Robert Frank Hunter

The New Ghost, by Robert Hunter, (Nobrow), 24 pages

Last Friday, I reviewed Professor Astro Cat's Frontiers of Space, published by Flying Eye. Today, I'm reviewing Robert Hunter's The New Ghost, which is published by Flying Eye's parent company, Nobrow.

This book captivated me from the moment I read the title. Who thinks about ghosts being new? But, if one is willing to imagine a world with ghosts, those ghosts are each going to have had a first day "on the job." That's the premise of this show more short graphic book.

The first page pictures a moody blue and black sky crowded with floating transparent grey figures and one additional floating figure in a more substantial solid white below the rest of the group. At the bottom of the page, one reads "It was my first day. To understand my role, I was told to follow the example of my colleagues." The business of following colleagues turns out to be a bit complicated and, left behind uncertain and confused, the ghost befriends an astronomer, who is kind, but who has no more idea than the ghost does about what it is ghosts really do.

This is a small book (24 pages), but the price is more than fair at $11, and the images are, well, haunting. Hunter's palette of blue, black, grey, and rose is perfect for the story. Even before one reads the text, the images pull the reader into the book's mixed tenor of beauty and sorrow.

I know this book will be spending a lot of time in my hands. It's perfect for rainy-day reading and just the sort of still, calming mix of word and image that one needs before falling asleep. Give yourself the pleasures of holding this book in your hands and of being able to pick it up again and again. Your world will be the richer for it. show less

This book is beautifully published. The experience alone of holding it in your hands is worth it. Robert Hunter has a very distinctive art style and you can immediately tell when you start reading this book. The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous as is the coloring. I love his use of blue as highlights intermittently throughout this book. But again, like new ghost, this story left me wanting more. I think there is still another tale that can be told about the face and the sun.

The Short:
This was such a weird book. I am not saying that as a bad thing because I love weird. Weirs movies, TV shows, people and most of all BOOKS! The quality of this book was magnificent. The story was beautiful both visually and plot-wise. I love the amount of work that Nobrow Press put into making this book work well. The size, and binding of the book was perfectly suited for the books. Nice job!

The Good:

As I stated above, I loved the story. It was just weird enough that I could latch show more onto the story, and when I thought it couldn't get any weirder, GUESS WHAT?! It did. It was a perfect story, and could not have been told better in more pages.
The art was beautiful. It was so well done. The pictures were done in such a way that it had a cool color scheme, but each frame would have a focal point with a color that would stand out on the cool background; the art nerd in me loved that.
The quality of the book was off the charts. It was not something I would expect from a smaller publishing company, but Nobrow Press really knows how to put a book together. They used quality paper in the actual book, and that is something I really appreciate. Even the overall hardcover is beautiful. It really captures the essence of the story.
The message of the story is one that I will always cherish. I think this is a book that I could read again and again, and find something else that is below the surface. The lit nerd in me was happy with this book.

The Bad:
It is really hard for me to come up with a negative about this, and the only thing I came up with was that at times it was confusing, but I think that was necessary for you to fully grasp the story. show less

Map of Days is just the sort of graphic novel I go for: imaginative, atmospheric, and beautifully drawn. A boy discovers another world inside his grandfather's grandfather clock, and adventure ensues. The story has all the magic and charm of a children's book, but none of the simplistic moralizing or symbolism. However, what really sets Map of Days apart in my opinion is its stunning visuals, which are alive with color and meticulously arranged on the page. It's the sort of book you want to show more keep on looking at, and the kind of story you want to return to again and again. show less