MattGrant
Monday, May 19, 2008, 05:52 PM
<img src="http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog/covers/tales_from_the_farm_cover_lg.gif" height="200" align=left hspace=10 >
Title: Essex County (Vol.1): Tales From the Farm
Publisher Name: Top Shelf Productions (http://www.topshelfcomix.com)
Artist/Writer: Jeff Lemire
B/W, 112 pages, 6 1/2" x 9" $9.95
Safety Content Label: T+ TEENS AND UP - Appropriate for most readers 13 and up, parents are advised that they might want to read before or with younger children.
Publishers Blurb:
In ESSEX COUNTY (VOL 1): TALES FROM THE FARM, Lemire illustrates the tale of Lester, a recently orphaned 10-year-old who goes to live on his Uncle’s farm. Their relationship grows increasingly strained and Lester befriends the town’s hulking gas station owner, Jimmy Lebeuf. The two escape into a private fantasy world of Superheroes, Alien Invaders and good old-fashioned pond Hockey. TALES FROM THE FARM is the first volume in a trilogy of graphic novels set in a fictionalized version of Lemire’s hometown of Essex County, Ontario
Reviewer Comments:
Tales from the Farm is a beautiful tale about a boy named Lester, who spends a lot of his time in an imaginary world of superheroes and aliens to escape the mundane and tragic aspects of "everyday life." After befriending a gas station owner, who happens to be an ex-hockey player, his imaginary world expands to include them both and create some satisfying resolutions.
The art is beautifully rough and to the point. Lemire can say more with a silent panel than volumes of prose could ever accomplish. TFTF touches on a wide range of emotion, everything from total sadness, to indifference, to complete joy, to comedic, to despair. The story is a beautiful one, which is primarily in the perspective of Lester (and must be understood as such), who is basically assembling a more satisfying world than the one he actually lives in. He and his uncle go head to head often because his uncle is much more of a "realist."
Overall, TFTF is a fantastic story paired with great art, that is easy to enjoy and really makes you think. Thankfully Top Shelf found this book, and has published it. I highly recommend it, and look forward to further Essex County installments!
Title: Essex County (Vol.1): Tales From the Farm
Publisher Name: Top Shelf Productions (http://www.topshelfcomix.com)
Artist/Writer: Jeff Lemire
B/W, 112 pages, 6 1/2" x 9" $9.95
Safety Content Label: T+ TEENS AND UP - Appropriate for most readers 13 and up, parents are advised that they might want to read before or with younger children.
Publishers Blurb:
In ESSEX COUNTY (VOL 1): TALES FROM THE FARM, Lemire illustrates the tale of Lester, a recently orphaned 10-year-old who goes to live on his Uncle’s farm. Their relationship grows increasingly strained and Lester befriends the town’s hulking gas station owner, Jimmy Lebeuf. The two escape into a private fantasy world of Superheroes, Alien Invaders and good old-fashioned pond Hockey. TALES FROM THE FARM is the first volume in a trilogy of graphic novels set in a fictionalized version of Lemire’s hometown of Essex County, Ontario
Reviewer Comments:
Tales from the Farm is a beautiful tale about a boy named Lester, who spends a lot of his time in an imaginary world of superheroes and aliens to escape the mundane and tragic aspects of "everyday life." After befriending a gas station owner, who happens to be an ex-hockey player, his imaginary world expands to include them both and create some satisfying resolutions.
The art is beautifully rough and to the point. Lemire can say more with a silent panel than volumes of prose could ever accomplish. TFTF touches on a wide range of emotion, everything from total sadness, to indifference, to complete joy, to comedic, to despair. The story is a beautiful one, which is primarily in the perspective of Lester (and must be understood as such), who is basically assembling a more satisfying world than the one he actually lives in. He and his uncle go head to head often because his uncle is much more of a "realist."
Overall, TFTF is a fantastic story paired with great art, that is easy to enjoy and really makes you think. Thankfully Top Shelf found this book, and has published it. I highly recommend it, and look forward to further Essex County installments!