As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. But if you piece related images together, they can outline a connecting tale that even text isn’t required to explain. So, allow your eyes to trail the consecutive frames and unravel adventures through storyboards.
Bad Island
by Stanley Donwood
Devoid of words and colour, Donwood’s post-apocalyptic linocut art monochromatic saga uncovers a moody terrain with wild seascape and spotlighted by a full moon. Best known for his album cover art to Radiohead’s Hail to the Thief and In Rainbows, the cult graphic designer carved out a disturbing yet familiar story that hits home hard. Earth’s sacrifice for progression and environmentalism must be addressed. Else, we’ve to pay a devastating price.
City Monster
by Reza Farazmand
Following The New York Times bestselling author and artist’s use of congenial fluffy animals on his popular webcomic Poorly Drawn Lines, it is now creepy creatures’ turn to rule a supernatural urban city. And they aren’t passé. This joyful read focuses on a young monster’s move to the metropolis and his encounters with out-of-this-world vampires, ghosts and demons while solving a mystery. Expect deadpan humour from tracing the daily activities of these irreverent spooks that dishes out wacky advice.
I Will Judge You By Your Bookshelf
by Grant Snider
The hardcovers and paperbacks that you buy can infer loads about you. Character and personality are discernible from them. While everyone’s perception differs, The New York Times illustrator Snider’s interpretations are magnified in respect to anything related to reading and writing. From the different phases to book discovery to problems faced when flipping through the pages, all bookworms can definitely identify with these age-appropriate images.
In the Shadow of No Towers
by Art Spiegelman
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Maus captured that same gripping emotion through a story inspired by witnessing the attack of World Trade Center. Dealing with the aftermath isn’t easy. Thus, he went on rehabilitation to combat post-traumatic stress disorder by revealing his experience through drawing in an oversized, two-page spread format. Its collage layout of artworks and comic strips allow readers to navigate themselves through this melancholic circumstance.
The Senses
by Matteo Farinella
Touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing. All of these body receptors are just as vital and don’t supersede each other. To prove this, neuroscientist and illustrator Farinella dissects biology via key graphics and surprising facts that explains their importance. Worry about uncommon theoretical terms? The University College London PhD recipient ingeniously injects friendly drawings and diagrams that describe the most up-to-date research sans complexity.
All titles above are available at Books Kinokuniya.
