Tiny Giants
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Book Summary Information
Illustrator: Nate PowellEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2003-05
ISBN: 1887128565
Number of pages: 150
Publisher: Soft Skull Press
Book Reviews of Tiny Giants
Book Review: The poetic side of graphic storytelling
Summary: 5 Stars
Wow. There's just so much to say about this collection that I'm not sure where to begin - or even how to say half of it. So let's start simply: the B&W artwork carries a style all its own, one that adapts itself to the mood of each story. Sometimes, the loose linework reminds me of Jules Feiffer; other times the drama of big blacks and wide whites makes me think of Miller's Sin City. Each change draws analogy to some other artist, but the fusion of them all comes uniquely from Powell's pen.
Those blends of reality and dream (or nightmare) convey Powell's subjects too - is there anything more concrete or more unreal than teenagers trying to find their place in the world? The style also works well with difficult topics that blend many feelings. The opening story, "Nineteen," seems simple: a man delivers a letter. In its few wordless pages, it comments on loyalty, prejudice, duty, tragedy, and probably more. That emotional whirl starts on the first page, where points of view orbit the somber central character. It continues to the last panel, where we suddenly learn that the whole story was really about another, unseen character.
Every story of the fifteen or so has that same density of meaning, and at least as much ambiguity. That's why I want to call this "graphic poetry," to distinguish it from the more linear and explanatory books called graphic novels. And, as with poetry, the meanings don't always present themselves for easy inspection. The sense often has to be teased out of Powell's personal imagery. It sometimes takes two or three readings, or more, for all the parts to come together.
These stories, collected from "Walkie Talkie" magazines, truly expand the world of comic storytelling and art. "Tiny Giants" has my highest recommendation.
-- wiredweird
Summary of Tiny Giants
Only 23, Nate Powell has for years self-published his comics, including the popular Walkie Talkie series. Using a bold, stark graphic style and storylines that recall the moody world of a David Lynch movie, he fills traditional comic strip panels with outre characters and inexplicable happenings. Spanning 1998 to 2002, the stories in Tiny Giants are about awkward silences and miscommunication, growing up in the Midwest, and fighting to hold onto the sweetness of life by any means possible. These ?true stories that never happened? build on vignettes into an otherworldly narrative of disturbing intensity in this debut collection of work from this talented underground comic artist.
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