Wow! 53 pages of threads about books; and it's about time someone mentioned Comic Books. Comic books, like Tarot, present their message through lines on paper that work simultaneously as symbol and image - the image being what opens your eye to a depiction of reality while the symbol communicates directly with the inner mind. One of their strengths is the ability to depict human emotions and interactions with an immediacy and accuracy matched neither by prose, which is limited to language (symbol), or drama, which is limited to realistic portrayal (image). A short list of my favorites: George Herriman Walt Kelly Jules Feiffer Robert Crumb The Hernandez Brothers (especially Gilbert's Palomar stories) Alison Bechdel Roberta Gregory Jim Woodring Dave Cooper (both Woodring and Cooper delve deep into the wilds of the subconcious) Harvey Pekar (A good movie, American Splendor, was made from his work) Jason Lutes (his Jar Of Fools is one of the great graphic novels) Craig Thomson Christopher Baldwin (my current favorite; his Bruno books are available only through the internet at moodycow.com) And there are many more gracing my bookshelf... Comic Book readers - come out of the closet! I invite your responses, comments and recommendations.
