Cheap Novelties: The Pleasures of Urban Decay by Ben Katchor This book is nice and simple, and maybe our review of it should be the same. Comics get a bad rap for being only about superheroes so their potential for telling common everyday stories is often ignored or overlooked. As a medium they can tell stories as subtle and personal as any other art form, and Cheap Novelties is as good of an example as any. Knowing nothing about Ben...
Hallucinations Oliver Sacks The great thing about Oliver Sacks’ books is that one always comes away feeling enlightened after reading them. Hallucinations is no different. While Sacks is known mostly for his books covering a variety of neurological illnesses, painting a vivid picture of what life must be like for these patients, Hallucinations focuses on only the one condition. And therein lies the problem with this book: maybe it’s just too narrow of a scope. While Sacks must be commended...
RASL by Jeff Smith Jeff Smith has made a permanent fan out of me against all odds. I’ve only read his book Bone, but what an epic tale that was. And Bone is far from being a perfect story, but that’s just the kind of impact the book can have on people. Smith creates worlds full of interesting and complex characters and the man knows how to move the plot along. Also, I read Bone in the original black-and-white format...
The Secret History of Twin Peaks by Mark Frost It’s been over twenty years since Twin Peaks aired, and after having rewatched the entire series and seen the movies in anticipation of the series’ return, there are still plenty of unanswered questions. I’ve come to realize that with this series, that will always be the case. Twin Peaks has a habit of taking reality and turning it on its head. The natural laws of physics don’t apply here, so don’t...
Hollywood Said No! Orphaned Film Scripts, Bastard Scenes, and Abandoned Darlings from the Creators of Mr. Show By Bob Odenkirk, David Cross, and Brian Posehn. Welcome to our new book review column here on Ground Control called “I Wanna be Literated”! We are going to try and keep this column up with not-just music related and not just brand new books. Some will be topical, old, some new, some borrowed, and almost all of them blue. We are proud to...
Empowered Unchained Volume 1 by Adam Warren You want to learn a thing or two about comics, go ahead and read Adam Warren. The man gets punk rock DIY with his “mainstream” comics. Or about as mainstream as one can get without getting jumbled up in the messy tripe that the “big two” are involved with. I say punk rock, because Adam Warren has figured out how to make it in comics on his own terms, and completely in control...
We Were Feminists Once: From Riot Grrrl to CoverGirl®, the Buying and Selling of a Political Movement by Andi Zeisler Have you ever looked at how feminism is being represented in pop culture and smelled a rat? Have you ever felt alone in this feeling? I certainly do. Well lucky for me We Were Feminists Once Came along and assured me that I’m not taking crazy pills. It’s frustrating talking to Beyoncé-adoring feminists at a party about how problematic she...
Socialism . . . Seriously: A Brief Guide to Human Liberation by Danny Katch “Socialism… Seriously” might be a small book, but boy is it powerful. Unfortunately , ever since I decided to bone up on my Socialist/Communist/Anarchist literature I’ve had to piece together the basic idea of each movement from various other books by various other authors. I’m still looking for that perfect Anarchism and Communism book that lays it all out and I can recommend to friends, but...
On Power and Ideology: The Managua Lectures by Noam Chomsky I have been fascinated with the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua ever since learning about it from the Clash and reading Stephen Kinzer’s book Blood of Brothers. Can I admit that I really enjoyed the book and saw the Sandinista revolution with mixed feelings? Sure I can. Then, I happened to Google the author and Noam Chomsky (because I couldn’t calm the doubting beast) and found out that Chomsky has...
Propaganda and the Public Mind by Noam Chomsky, David Barsamian The world is a better place because it has Noam Chomsky and his books. And it’s in that spirit that Haymarket books has taken up the task of putting out a series of new Chomsky books and republishing and updating some new ones for our benefit. And Propaganda and the Public Mind is a good place as any to start with this collection. Composed of his interviews with David...