Tag Archives: koren shadmi

Wednesday Graphic Novel Review: Rise of the Dungeon Master: Gary Gygax and the Creation of D&D

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Rise of the Dungeon Master tells, in graphic form, the story of Gary Gygax, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, one of the most influential games ever made. Like the game itself, the narrative casts the reader into the adventure from a first person point of view, taking on the roles of the different characters in the story.

A unique graphic novel that’s an excellent look into the history of Gary Gygax and the impact of Dungeons & Dragons on pop culture and entertainment.

Get your copy now:
Amazon or TFAW

 

 

Nation Books provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
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Preview: Love Addict: Confessions of a Serial Dater

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Love Addict: Confessions of a Serial Dater

Koren Shadmi (w & a & c)

LONELY? THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT. Reeling after a breakup, young animator “K”

is pushed by a friend to join the popular dating site Lovebug. His journey begins as a search for true love, but soon awakens a relentless craving for novelty and sexual conquest.

With the touch of a button, K embarks on a dating spree, browsing a digital marketplace of the flesh. Who can stop when Lovebug offers an endless stream of prospective mates, sorted by algorithms and stored on a distant server, ready on demand like TV episodes or Chinese takeout? And in the face of this addiction, can K hold on to his friends, his job, or even his humanity?

The acclaimed author of In the Flesh and The Abaddon presents an evocative tale of modern love… in a world where even full bars can lead to a bad connection.

TPB • FC • $24.99 • 232 pages • 6.25” x 9” • ISBN: 978-1-60309-393-4

LoveAddict-Cover

Preview: The Abaddon

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From award-winning illustrator Koren Shadmi comes The Abaddon, a strikingly cinematic graphic novel loosely based on Jean-Paul Sartre’s play No Exit from Z2 Comics. The Abaddon will be available on the internet and in bookstores November 12th.

Originally created as a webcomic, The Abaddon tells the story of a young man, Ter, who finds himself trapped in an otherworldly apartment with a group of dysfunctional, ill-matched roommates. Ter is aghast to discover that his new, grotesque reality is not governed by the laws of nature, and that his roommates are missing critical chunks of their memories and identities — as is he. Shadmi’s inspiration for the apartment building in The Abaddon is a real one in Brooklyn, which houses many cartoonists.

Creator Koren Shadmi’s work was first published in his native Israel when he was a teenager. His haunting, alluring characters pull readers straight into Ter’s David Lynch-esque reality. On his captivating and, at times, horrifying quest for clarity and control, Ter remembers that he was once a soldier, and is forced to face the aftermath of his time on the frontlines — a journey that echoes Shadmi’s own three year-stint in the Israeli Army.

Shadmi is already a well-known creator in Israel and Europe, and this fall’s publication of The Abaddon promises to substantially elevate his U.S. profile. Through The Abaddon, U.S. readers and critics alike will discover Shadmi’s intense combination of dark humor and drama; will feel a rare, visceral connection to characters that embody all of our deepest, darkest thoughts.

Z2 Comics Announces Fall Graphic Novels including Ashes, Pawn Shop, The Abaddon, and Harvey Pekar’s Cleveland

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ASHESZ2 Comics announced today their fall 2015 graphic novel slate, including a reprint of one of Harvey Pekar’s final graphic novels and three graphic novels. The biggest surprise of the bunch is a new printing of Pekar’s Cleveland, one of his last graphic novels, and a love letter to his home town. It was originally published by Top Shelf in April 2012.

Check out below for the full slate of graphic novels being released.

Ashes: A Firefighter’s Tale written by Mario Candelaria with art by Karl Slominski.

(September 22, 2015; $19.99; 120 pages; black and white)

Matt always had an easygoing life. Girls liked him, his friends were more like family, and being a firefighter came naturally. Then the accident happened. Now, after the loss of his leg, Matt struggles to cope with his new handicap as he attempts to rebuild his shattered family and once budding career. A riveting tale about perseverance, hard work, and overcoming the odds, Ashes is a gripping tale told in stunning black and white.

PAWN SHOPPawn Shop written by Joey Esposito with art by Sean Von Gorman

(September 22, 2015; $19.99; 120 pages; full color)

A widower. A nurse. A punk. A Long Island Railroad employee. New York City is an ecosystem where everybody is connected, if only by the streets they walk on. This original graphic novel is the story of four people, in a city of eight million, whose lives unknowingly intersect through a Manhattan pawn shop.

Written by Joey Esposito (Footprints) and illustrated with a gorgeous mixture of watercolor and digital elements by Sean Von Gorman (Toe Tag Riot), Pawn Shop explores the big things that separate us and the little moments that inexplicably unite us.

The Abaddon written and illustrated by Koren Shadmi

(November 10, 2015; $24.99; 240 pages; full color)

cover_updatedLoosely based on Jean-Paul Sartre’s play No Exit, The Abaddon is the story of a young man who finds himself trapped in a bizarre apartment with a group of ill-matched roommates. He discovers that his new home doesn’t adhere to any rational laws of nature and comes to realize that everyone living in the apartment is missing crucial parts of their memories and identities.

Cleveland by Harvey Pekar and Joseph Remnant

(November DATE TK; Price TK; 128; black and white)

A lifelong resident of Cleveland, Ohio, Harvey Pekar (1939-2010) pioneered autobiographical comics, mining the mundane for magic since 1976 in his critically acclaimed series American Splendor. Legendary comic book writer Harvey Pekar’s collaboration with artist Joseph Remnant, titled Cleveland, was originally published by Top Shelf Shelf Comics and Zip Comics in 2012 and includes an introduction by Alan Moore. The book presents key moments and characters from the city’s history, intertwined with Harvey’s own ups and downs, as relayed to us by Our Man and meticulously researched and rendered by artist Joseph Remnant. At once a history of Cleveland and a portrait of Harvey, it’s a tribute to the ordinary greatness of both.

Review: Mike’s Place

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MikesPlace-300RGBThere’s a rule at Mike’s Place: never, ever talk politics or religion. At this blues bar on the Tel Aviv beachfront, an international cast of characters mingles with the locals, and everyone is welcome to grab a beer and forget the conflict outside. At least, that’s the story Jack and Joshua want to tell in their documentary.

But less than a month after they begin filming, Mike’s Place is the target of a deadly suicide bombing. Jack, Joshua, and the Mike’s Place family survive the only way they know how-by keeping the camera rolling.

Written by Jack Baxter and Joshua Faudem, Mike’s Place is a graphic novel spun out of their experience that you can see in the documentary Blues by the Beach. What was supposed to be a movie celebrating Israeli life, and the peace found between Israelis, Palestinians, folks of all different backgrounds, who come together in a bar, instead it captures tragedy, and perseverance.

Going into reading Mike’s Place, you know the tragedy that will befall everyone at some point in the book. The tense vibe flows off the pages and builds as you get closer and closer to the event. Rarely has the slow build to tragedy, and the rebirth that follows, been captured with such a compassionate and unflinching eye. That’s primarily because Baxter and Faudem were at the event, witnessing it first hand, and don’t hold back details or showing us what transpired. Still, knowing what’s to come, the actual terrorist act, and what follows is a gut punch that can’t help cause you to tear up.

The graphic novel grips and effects you at a personal level. Part of that is due to the fact it’s both tragic and uplifting. The lead up, and post event accounting of what happened shows strength in tragedy, it’s a mesmerizing, and in ways uplifting, story. The attitudes displayed throughout the ordinary people show you some of the best of humanity, through all of their personal, relatable, flaws. It also shows the raw reality of Israeli life, some of which we don’t see here in the United States.

Baxter and Faudem are helped on art by Koren Shadmi whose style feels right for the region the story takes place. It’s a worldly style that’s not too detailed, but detailed enough to suck you into the Israeli world.

Beautifully haunting, Mike’s Place is a graphic novel that sticks with you for days and weeks. It’s absolutely Eisner material, and expect it to be nominated for numerous awards come time. One of the best graphic novels of the year so far.

Story: Jack Baxter, Joshua Faudem Art: Koren Shadmi
Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy

First Second provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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