Matt Dembicki

I have encountered versions of some of these tales before, but this collection is very well done. It's diverse and respectful, ranging from Choctaw to Navajo to one set in Hawaii. The information in the back states that they made sure that the storyteller approved of the art, and that little editing was done so that the true voice could be preserved. I loved the majority of the artwork--really, a number of panels were just plain gorgeous--though found one in particular to be a bit too show more contemporary-cartoony for my taste. But hey, that's me.

Since my 9-year-old son loves graphic novels, I think he might like this book--whereas he wouldn't pick up a standard book of mythological tales. It's the kind of book a child or adult can appreciate. show less

Prose anthologies can be great, but they are working from a position of disadvantage. The juxtaposition of different styles makes editing very important. A collection of really good stories by multiple authors is going to be a good book, but even then might be less than the sum of its parts.

A comic anthology is even more difficult. in addition to differences in prose style, you have multiple artists. This was an interesting idea. Gather native american stories about trickster myths in comic show more form, but it was not so good in execution. The art varied from good to borderline awful and the lettering was really terrible in places. I was reading the kindle version and even on maximum zoom I couldn't make out the text in several stories. I think better editing could have helped this. I wasn't sure how the stories were ordered, but a gradual transition from the best art to the worst and back to some of the best might have helped hold reader interest.

The stories themselves were also of mixed quality. Every culture seems to have a trickster figure, whether it is Loki or a coyote. Some were good, many weren't. I was particularly fascinate by the one where buzzard looses the feathers on his head and acquires an offensive personal odor because old-man coyote shoves buzzards head in his butt to punish him for a slight. That was some cross-cultural gold and delightfully weird.

Some myths are just dumb. One was very similar to the Sodom and Gomorrah story. A tribe slights coyote the trickster and is turned into pillars of stone rather than salt, but its the same. Disobey and horrible things happen to you. it isn't terrible compelling, but its what we have. What I wonder is, did those stories survive because they were some of the best? Were there worse stories that were forgotten? show less

This is a 2011 Aesop Prize winner! This is a fun and engaging collection of Native American trickster stories paired with a wide range of illustrations. The editor, Matt Dembicki, explains that he reached out to Native American storytellers, and then the storytellers selected an artist from a pool of illustrators and approved the art and storyboards along the way. The editor, a comic creator, is also one of the illustrators.

There are 21 stories included, each with a different author and show more illustrator, so every story is unique on multiple levels. The art, like the stories, are different every time. It is a quick and fun read. When I sat down to read it, I kept thinking, "I'll read just one more!" And then I was done!

Each story has a trickster, it might be a coyote, rabbit, raven, raccoon, or other being. Some stories have morals wrapped up at the end, others let you interpret the message on your own. I loved the story of "Azban and the Crayfish" with its message of honesty and not celebrating others misfortunes. "Rabbit and the Tug of War" was also a cute story following the hijinks of a rabbit with some bison. Some favorite illustrations were in the story "Coyote and the Pebbles" where the drawings were mystic and dark (and told the story of how the stars came to be)!

At the end of the book, the author/editor lists all of the contributors and includes a small bio on each of them. I really wish this had been at the beginning of each story, so you knew who the author and illustrators were, as well as the tribe the story came from. I was curious in each story where the story originated, but that was not clear, so that is definitely one thing I wish were changed. show less

An interesting concept. This is an anthology that teams up Native American authors telling traditional stories about "tricksters" with contemporary artists. There are a few gems in this collection, and on the whole it is a unique and intriguing publication. That said, I have to admit that I didn't care for a good 2/3rds of the art. Based on my reading I wouldn't seek out other books from any of the authors or artists other than perhaps the primary author, Matt Dembicki.