Synopses & Reviews
Do ideas of war and enemies hold a people together? Is a culture of conflict too seductive not to be irresistible? These are the questions Cathy Malkasian explores in her second graphic novel, Temperance.
Malkasian creates, as she did in the critically acclaimed Percy Gloom, a fully realized, multi-layered world, inhabited by vividly realized characters. After a brutal injury in battle, Lester has no memory of his prior life. For the next thirty years his wife does everything to keep him from remembering'"and re-constructing'"a society, Blessedbowl, that elevates him as a hero. Blessedbowl is a cultural convergence of lies, memories, stories, and beliefs. Its people thrive on ideas of persecution, exceptionality, and enemies, convinced that war lurks just outside their walls. They have come to depend on Lester, their greatest war hero, to lead the charge once the Final Battle begins.
What kind of enemy could topple such a people and its walls? Mere memory, it seems, as Lester gradually emerges from his amnesia. Temperanceis an eyewitness"s account of recovery and awakening. The graphic novel works on two levels. It considers the concepts of violence, stories, and belief, and their place in holding a culture together, slyly echoing contemporary political issues in a nation at a stressful time currently at war with a ubiquitous enemy. Secondly, the fissures in Lester and Minerva"s marriage is echoed in the greater political upheaval around them.
Malkasian creates a densely textured social context, masterfully conveying the idiosyncratic physical domain with its spiraling structures and quasi-medieval architecture along with intimate yet plastic portraits of her characters in a rich, tonal pencil line. Temperanceis a galvanizing work of empathy and violence by one of today"s the most thoughtful and accomplished cartoonists.
Review
"Starred Review. Expressive and generously detailed pencil sketches serve as an excellent complement to the spare but exacting text to form a narrative that should cut through any reader's disbelief. ... Malkasian continues to demonstrate bravura storytelling skills... Excellent work for both fans and serious literary readers ready to try sequential art." Booklist
Review
[A] twisted allegory... Relying heavily on pencil shadings to establish mood, Malkasian's restraint of line results in vividly drawn but still complex characters.With Temperance, Malkasian has heightened the depth of her ideas and demanded more from her audience. It"s a religious parable, to be sure, but it doesn"t stop right there, instead going into the territory of the motivations of belief, including the roles of fear, wrongdoing and falsehoods. -- John Seven
Review
"This is why I read comics.... the end is nothing short of transcendent.... This is an amazing example of what comics can be." Eden Miller
Review
"With , Malkasian has heightened the depth of her ideas and demanded more from her audience. It's a religious parable, to be sure, but it doesn't stop right there, instead going into the territory of the motivations of belief, including the roles of fear, wrongdoing and falsehoods." Comicsgirl
Synopsis
After a brutal injury in battle, Lester has no memory of his prior life. For the next thirty years his wife does everything to keep him from remembering, constructing a society that elevates him as a hero.
Synopsis
Malkasian creates, as she did in the critically acclaimedPercy Gloom, a fully realized, multi-layered world, inhabited by vividly realized characters. After a brutal injury in battle, Lester has no memory of his prior life. For the next thirty years his wife does everything to keep him from remembering and re-constructing a society, Blessedbowl, that elevates him as a hero. Blessedbowl is a cultural convergence of lies, memories, stories, and beliefs. Its people thrive on ideas of persecution, exceptionality, and enemies, convinced that war lurks just outside their walls. They have come to depend on Lester, their greatest war hero, to lead the charge once the Final Battle begins. What kind of enemy could topple such a people and its walls? Mere memory, it seems, as Lester gradually emerges from his amnesia.Temperance is an eyewitness s account of recovery and awakening. The graphic novel works on two levels. It considers the concepts of violence, stories, and belief, and their place in holding a culture together, slyly echoing contemporary political issues in a nation at a stressful time currently at war with a ubiquitous enemy. Secondly, the fissures in Lester and Minerva s marriage is echoed in the greater political upheaval around them. Malkasian creates a densely textured social context, masterfully conveying the idiosyncratic physical domain with its spiraling structures and quasi-medieval architecture along with intimate yet plastic portraits of her characters in a rich, tonal pencil line.Temperance is a galvanizing work of empathy and violence by one of today s the most thoughtful and accomplished cartoonists. "
Synopsis
In Cathy Malkasians' follow-up to 2007's award-winning graphic novel
Percy Gloom,
Temperance, Lester has no memory of his prior life after a brutal injury in battle. For the next thirty years his wife does everything to keep him from remembering -and re-constructing- a society, Blessedbowl, that elevates him as a hero. Blessedbowl is a cultural convergence of lies, memories, stories, and beliefs. Its people thrive on ideas of persecution, exceptionality, and enemies, convinced that war lurks just outside their walls. They have come to depend on Lester, their greatest war hero, to lead the charge once the Final Battle begins. What kind of enemy could topple such a people and its walls? Mere memory, it seems, as Lester gradually emerges from his amnesia.
Temperance is an eyewitness's account of recovery and awakening. Malkasian creates a fully realized, multi-layered world, inhabited by vividly realized characters. The graphic novel works on two levels. It considers the concepts of violence, stories, and belief, and their place in holding a culture together, slyly echoing contemporary political issues in a nation at a stressful time currently at war with a ubiquitous enemy.
Synopsis
Do ideas of war and enemies hold a people together? Is a culture of conflict too seductive not to be irresistible? These are the questions Cathy Malkasian explores in her second graphic novel, . Malkasian creates, as she did in the critically acclaimed , a fully realized, multi-layered world, inhabited by vividly realized characters. After a brutal injury in battle, Lester has no memory of his prior life. For the next thirty years his wife does everything to keep him from remembering--and re-constructing--a society, Blessedbowl, that elevates him as a hero. Blessedbowl is a cultural convergence of lies, memories, stories, and beliefs. Its people thrive on ideas of persecution, exceptionality, and enemies, convinced that war lurks just outside their walls. They have come to depend on Lester, their greatest war hero, to lead the charge once the Final Battle begins. What kind of enemy could topple such a people and its walls? Mere memory, it seems, as Lester gradually emerges from his amnesia. is an eyewitness's account of recovery and awakening. The graphic novel works on two levels. It considers the concepts of violence, stories, and belief, and their place in holding a culture together, slyly echoing contemporary political issues in a nation at a stressful time currently at war with a ubiquitous enemy. Secondly, the fissures in Lester and Minerva's marriage is echoed in the greater political upheaval around them. Malkasian creates a densely textured social context, masterfully conveying the idiosyncratic physical domain with its spiraling structures and quasi-medieval architecture along with intimate yet plastic portraits of her characters in a rich, tonal pencil line. is a galvanizing work of empathy and violence by one of today's the most thoughtful and accomplished cartoonists.
Synopsis
The second book from 2008 Eisner "Best New Talent" Cathy Malkasian.
About the Author
Cathy Malkasian was the director of TV's Rugrats and the movie The Wild Thornberrys Movie, and has been nominated for a British Academy Award. She is the author of the graphic novels Percy Gloom and Temperance and lives in Los Angeles, CA.