The Graphic Canon, Volume 2: From "Kubla Khan" to the Bronte Sisters to the Picture of Dorian Gray (Graphic Canon)

The Graphic Canon, Volume 2 gives us a visual cornucopia based on the wealth of literature from the 1800s. Several artists—including Maxon Crumb and Gris Grimly—present their versions of Edgar Allan Poe’s visions. The great American novel Huckleberry Finn is adapted uncensored for the first time, as Twain wrote it. The bad boys of Romanticism—Shelley, Keats, and Byron—are visualized here, and so are the Brontë sisters. We see both of Coleridge’s most famous poems: “Kubla Khan” and “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” (the latter by British comics legend Hunt Emerson). Philosophy and science are ably represented by ink versions of Nietzsche’sThus Spake Zarathustra and Darwin’s On the Origin of Species.

Frankenstein, Moby-Dick, Les Misérables, Great Expectations, Middlemarch, Anna Karenina, Crime and Punishment (a hallucinatory take on the pivotal murder scene), Thoreau’s Walden (in spare line art by John Porcellino of King-Cat Comics fame), “The Drunken Boat” by Rimbaud, Leaves of Grass by Whitman, and two of Emily Dickinson’s greatest poems are all present and accounted for. John Coulthart has created ten magnificent full-page collages that tell the story of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. And Pride and Prejudice has never looked this splendiferous!

This volume is a special treat for Lewis Carroll fans. Dame Darcy puts her unmistakable stamp on—what else?—the Alice books in a new 16-page tour-de-force, while a dozen other artists present their versions of the most famous characters and moments from Wonderland. There’s also a gorgeous silhouetted telling of “Jabberwocky,” and Mahendra’s Singh’s surrealistic take on “The Hunting of the Snark.”

Curveballs in this volume include fairy tales illustrated by the untameable S. Clay Wilson, a fiery speech from freed slave Frederick Douglass (rendered in stark black and white by Seth Tobocman), a letter on reincarnation from Flaubert, the Victorian erotic classic Venus in Furs, the drug classic The Hasheesh Eater, and silk-screened illustrations for the ghastly children’s classic Der Struwwelpeter. Among many other canonical works.

"Comprising original graphic versions of classic literature, from Coleridge's 'Kubla Khan' to Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, this is the second volume of a must-have anthology for those who wish to lose themselves utterly in visual narrative adaptations of the works of the Western canon. Featuring spectacular graphic adaptations of some of the 19th century's most famous works, contributors include Maxon Crumb, John Porcellino, and Megan Kelso. Each selection is prefaced with a short introduction to provide context, and a rationale is included for the marriage of a particular writer with a particular artist. And editor Kick certainly gets it right. Porcellino's simple drawings are perfect for Thoreau's Walden. Eran Cantrell's silhouetted illustrations for Carroll's 'Jabberwocky' are positively stunning. And what PMurphy does with Wordsworth's 'I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud' is marvelously original. Apart from containing insightful introductions and wonderful artwork, these selections have a not-to-be-underestimated pedagogical value that educators will no doubt find invaluable in bringing classic works of literature to a 21st-century audience immersed in visual culture. (Oct.)" Publishers Weekly Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Vol. 2 gives us a visual cornucopia based on the wealth of literature from the 1800s. Several artists--including Maxon Crumb and Gris Grimly--present their versions of Poe's visions. We see two stunning but very different takes on the greatest American novel, Moby-Dick, including one by Eisner Award-winning artist Bill Sienkiewicz. That other great American novel, Huckleberry Finn, is adapted, uncensored for the first time, as Twain wrote it. The bad boys of Romanticism--Shelley, Keats and Byron--are visualized here, and so are the Brontë sisters. Philosophy and science are ably represented by ink versions of Nietzsche's Thus Spake Zarathustra and Darwin's On the Origin of Species. 

Frankenstein, Les Misérables, Oliver Twist, Crime and Punishment (a hallucinatory take on the pivotal murder scene), Thoreau's Walden (in spare line art by John Porcellino of King-Cat Comics fame), Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman and two of Emily Dickinson's greatest poems are all present and accounted for. The inimitable Dame Darcy puts her unmistakable stamp on--what else?--the Alice in Wonderland books. Christina Rossetti's haunting, dark poem "Goblin Market" will linger long after the last panel is viewed. And Pride and Prejudice has never looked this splendiferous! Curveballs in this volume include fairy tales illustrated by the untameable S. Clay Wilson, a fiery speech from freed slave Frederick Douglass (rendered in stark black and white by Seth Tobocman) and selections from Wagner's colossal Ring cycle of operas, which won two Eisner Awards for artist P. Craig Russell, among many other canonical works.

Russ Kick's bestselling anthologies, including You Are Being Lied To and Everything You Know Is Wrong, have sold over half a million copies. The New York Times has dubbed Kick "an information archaeologist," Details magazine described Kick as "a Renaissance man," and Utne Reader named him one of its "50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World." Russ Kick lives and works in Nashville, Tennessee, and Tucson, Arizona.