James Turner (1) (1968–)

I have no idea how funny this comic book would be to non-library folks, but it was mighty amusing to me. How could any librarian resist a comic book that begins with Ranganathan's Five Laws? Not to mention all the literary characters popping up in the stacks as "physical manifestations of paranormal emanations extruded from the mental energy captured in the literature on the shelves". Though, as Rex warns one patron, "never ever mention characters you meet who are not yet in the public show more domain. We live in a very litigious age". Wry humor abounds. Most enjoyable to me were the constant digressions into Rex's past, as well as his conversations with Barry, the comic book publisher who keeps wanting to add Amazons to the stories. Like Laurence Sterne, James Turner makes his book even funnier by frequently pulling back the curtains and exposing it as a book. show less

This graphic novel collects the first five issues of the comic. Rex, a “two-fisted librarian”, will stop at nothing to maintain order in the library and get people to return overdue books. Along the way he must deal with fictional characters that come to life, old ladies lost in the aisles, and a Larry King-like publisher who likes to put his two-cents in at the beginning of every chapter.

When I first heard of REX LIBRIS being a book about a librarian who traveled to other galaxies to show more retrieve overdue books, I knew I had to have it.

I love the fact that Rex is single-minded in his mission, with a bit of a superhero attitude. Although Rex sometimes speaks like a good ol’ boy, his knowledge is unceasing, so his voice every so often contradicts his intelligence.

Rex is a fabulous, fearless enforcer of library rules, but my favorite character is Rex’s sidekick Simon. He’s a talking bird bent on world domination. He’s funny and a perfect foil in response to Rex’s quibbles.

“Your own librarian commando training has surely informed you of the merits of armed back-up!”
“Well, damn, you’re right, I shoulda brought Hypatia.”
“HYPATIA?! Forget about Hypatia! What about me? I’m here, after all. What about my right to bear arms?”
“Dat doesn’t apply to BIRDS.”
“That’s just outright anti-bird prejudice!”

Who would have thought that a librarian would have such outrageous adventures and be so entertaining?

Don’t pass over “The Ordo Bibliotheca” near the end of the book. It’s an amusing history of the secret International Order of Librarians, of which Rex has been a member since at least the Dark Ages.

What I didn’t like was the really small print of this edition. They should have gone for better readability instead of cutting costs with a smaller book. Also, the addition in the back of other artists’ interpretations of Rex didn’t thrill me.

I’ve not read any other works by James Turner, such as NIL, but this volume will definitely get me to buy the next volume of REX LIBRIS. Ok, here’s the thing, even though I personally love the book, I don’t know that I would recommend it to more than a very select group of people. If you like libraries, sci-fi, cute birds, humor, intergalactic travel, and warriors that look like snowmen, then this is categorically the right book for you. show less

This graphic novel collects the first five issues of the comic. Rex, a “two-fisted librarian”, will stop at nothing to maintain order in the library and get people to return overdue books. Along the way he must deal with fictional characters that come to life, old ladies lost in the aisles, and a Larry King-like publisher who likes to put his two-cents in at the beginning of every chapter.

When I first heard of REX LIBRIS being a book about a librarian who traveled to other galaxies to show more retrieve overdue books, I knew I had to have it.

I love the fact that Rex is single-minded in his mission, with a bit of a superhero attitude. Although Rex sometimes speaks like a good ol’ boy, his knowledge is unceasing, so his voice every so often contradicts his intelligence.

Rex is a fabulous, fearless enforcer of library rules, but my favorite character is Rex’s sidekick Simon. He’s a talking bird bent on world domination. He’s funny and a perfect foil in response to Rex’s quibbles.

“Your own librarian commando training has surely informed you of the merits of armed back-up!”
“Well, damn, you’re right, I shoulda brought Hypatia.”
“HYPATIA?! Forget about Hypatia! What about me? I’m here, after all. What about my right to bear arms?”
“Dat doesn’t apply to BIRDS.”
“That’s just outright anti-bird prejudice!”

Who would have thought that a librarian would have such outrageous adventures and be so entertaining?

Don’t pass over “The Ordo Bibliotheca” near the end of the book. It’s an amusing history of the secret International Order of Librarians, of which Rex has been a member since at least the Dark Ages.

What I didn’t like was the really small print of this edition. They should have gone for better readability instead of cutting costs with a smaller book. Also, the addition in the back of other artists’ interpretations of Rex didn’t thrill me.

I’ve not read any other works by James Turner, such as NIL, but this volume will definitely get me to buy the next volume of REX LIBRIS. Ok, here’s the thing, even though I personally love the book, I don’t know that I would recommend it to more than a very select group of people. If you like libraries, sci-fi, cute birds, humor, intergalactic travel, and warriors that look like snowmen, then this is categorically the right book for you. show less

Look, I am going to be a sucker for any story about the secret society of super-powered librarians who patrol the interdimensional worlds deep in the stacks (and also enforce overdue fines). I just am. This one actually does live up to the premise, too!

Let's put it this way: I read it depsite the fact that I despise the art. And it takes a *lot* to get me to read a comic when I despise the art. (It is very blocky, obviously computer-generated vector art. Comics art should not be show more vector-based. Or computer generated. Just shouldn't.) show less