Masterpiece Comics - Hardcover

Sikoryak, R.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1897299842 ISBN 13: 9781897299845

Publisher: Drawn and Quarterly, 2009

Synopsis

HILARIOUS PARODIES OF CLASSIC LITERATURE REIMAGINED WITH CLASSIC COMICS

Masterpiece Comics adapts a variety of classic literary works with the most iconic visual idioms of twentieth-century comics. Dense with exclamation marks and lurid colors, R. Sikoryak's parodies remind us of the sensational excesses of the canon, or, if you prefer, of the economical expressiveness of classic comics from Batman to Garfield. In "Blond Eve," Dagwood and Blondie are ejected from the Garden of Eden into their archetypal suburban home; Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray is reimagined as a foppish Little Nemo; and Camus's Stranger becomes a brooding, chain-smoking Golden Age Superman. Other source material includes Dante, Shakespeare, Dostoyevsky, bubblegum wrappers, superhero comics, kid cartoons, and more.

Sikoryak's classics have appeared in landmark anthologies such as RAW and Drawn & Quarterly, all of which are collected in Masterpiece Comics, along with brilliant new graphic literary satires. His drawings have appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, as well as in The New Yorker, The Onion, Mad, and Nickelodeon Magazine.

About this title

About the Author

R. Sikoryak is the cartoonist of Masterpiece Comics, Terms and Conditions, and The Unquotable Trump. His comics and illustrations have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, The Nation, The Onion, and MAD, as well as on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Sikoryak teaches in the illustration department at Parsons School of Design and previously at the Center for Cartoon Studies. Since 1997, he has presented his live cartoon slide show series, Carousel, around the United States and Canada. He lives in New York City with his wife, Kriota Willberg.

Reviews

Grade 11 Up–The practice of retelling classic literature in comic-book form gets turned on its head in this entertaining mash-up. With a varied compilation featuring Blondie and Dagwood newly created and naked in the Garden of Eden, or a typically wry Garfield in the role of Mephistopheles, Sikoryak successfully merges the main themes and plot points with the artistic components unique to the individual comics. For instance, old school Superman's square jaw perfectly conveys The Stranger's nihilistic detachment, presented by the covers of Action Camus instead of Action Comics. Though each story's impact depends on readers' frame of reference with the material (teens might readily recognize the Macbeth plot but not the Mary Worth comic strip), the book provides a good entry point for discussing satire. Added details like Letters to the Editor, a drawing contest, and advertisements for a toy model of the Pequod complete the package, ensuring more than a few chuckles.–Joanna K. Fabicon, Los Angeles Public Library
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Starred Review. This slim but densely sly volume collects, at long last, 20 years of Sikoryak's classic lit/classic comics mashups. Blondie and Dagwood act out Genesis in Blonde Eve; Garfield tempts Jon into a deal with the devil in Mephistofield; and Batman turns into Raskol for a reworking of Crime and Punishment. What could be simple parody in other hands is elevated to multileveled artistry by Sikoryak's uncanny ability to mimic the line of artists from Winsor McCay through Jack Davis to Charles Schulz. He goes far beyond mere imitation to eerily inhabit the artistic sensibilities of a dozen cartoonists; the result is as funny as it is impressive. These retellings linger on the philosophical underpinnings of such tales; coupled with the allusions and baggage of these familiar cartoon characters, the crossovers take on a life of their own to become legitimate adaptations. For instance, Little Pearl in Red Letter Day features Marjorie Henderson Buell/John Stanley's Little Lulu characters in a note for note retelling of Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, contrasting the grim Puritan narrative with the animated expressions of the Bueel/Stanley originals to cast the sin-obsessed settlers into even sharper relief. Readers who pick this up for the well-deserved laughter will get a bonus with the thoughtful metaphors. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Drawn and Quarterly
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1897299842
• ISBN 13: 9781897299845
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 64