Monday, April 23, 2007

I'M IN LOVE WITH DUNGEON

I'm in love with the Dungeon graphic novel series, by Trondheim, Sfar, and others. I'm unabashedly in love, and completely in love. Just the sheer imagination in the art, let alone the imagination in the storytelling, the humor, and insanity and sometimes the profundity of it, really make me want it to be endless. I think I'd rather read this than any heroic fantasy novel series out there, possibly the George RR Martin included. I say this not because it's true necessarily--comparing apples and anvils here--but to let you know how serious I am about how good this is.

If you haven't experienced this, you need to, because it's amazing. And I really am serious about preferring it in many ways to anything out there in this particular genre (swords-and-sorcery?) because it puts to shame most of us novelists working in the field in its level of endless invention, the way it mixes in humor with characters who acquire depth and wisdom (and pratfalls) in their quests.

Yes, this is a satirical fantasy series, but it is more serious than one might expect.

No, I'm not on drugs.

Jeff

(Evil Monkey: This, on the other hand, is heinous. I think I feel a little sick. Jeff: Hey! You've been gone a long time. Where've you been? Evil Monkey: I took a tour of stupidity in the world. It took for-ev-err, man. Jeff: Good to have you back. Evil Monkey: Whatever.)

6 Comments:

At 7:13 PM, Blogger Gwenda said...

I've just been reading Dungeon -- so fabulous!

 
At 7:25 PM, Blogger Nathan said...

Yeah, Dungeon! I have the first two volumes. I need to check Amazon and see what else is out (I don't recognize the image in your post, for example ... ).

 
At 9:02 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

In re: Evil Monkey's comment -- the event (definitely heinous) or the letter (definitely, um, something)?

 
At 5:29 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Letter and event. Different types of heinous.
JV

 
At 10:48 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

> Letter and event. Different types of heinous.

So glad you said that - my first thought was that you were quoting the letter with approval, which disturbed me.

That letter has a few valid points to make, but it's also an unintendedly brilliant self portrait of a disturbed individual.

 
At 7:16 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Agreed--I collect stuff like that for fictional voices. I'm storing that right next to the tirade about certain kinds of penguins in this eccentric bird book I bought recently.

But, yes, unequivocably--that letter is disgusting.

JeffV

 

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