Reviews: Graphic Novels

Gr 4 Up—Classic works of fiction, such as A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court and Don Quixote, have been condensed into 16-page comics. These versions, while not using much of the original language, cover the major plot points and retain the spirit of the original works. "Frankenstein" is still bleak, "War of the Worlds" is still terrifying, and Twain's sardonic humor comes through in "Connecticut Yankee." The skillful artwork adds to the appeal. The tales in Historical Adventures are drawn in a realistic, detailed style that is fluid and expressive, while "Don Quixote," in Great Heroes, is drawn in a lively cartoon style in vibrant colors. The art for "Frankenstein" is shrouded in mournful, foreboding browns and grays, and the extraordinary painted illustrations in "20,000 Leagues under the Sea" are startlingly lifelike. The layouts are simple but dynamic: square and rectangular panels occasionally break to allow larger, more dramatic images, and word balloons spill over into other panels. Everything is ordered and easy to follow, though, and these engrossing stories may encourage some readers to find the originals. Be aware of a typo in the biography of Arthur Conan Doyle in Great Heroes that states that he was born in 1959, instead of 1859.—Lisa Goldstein, Brooklyn Public Library, NY

Gr 3–5—Aimed at reluctant readers, these biographies are no more than illustrated encyclopedia articles. Each one relates the most basic and pertinent facts about a well-known historical figure in an appealing and popular format. Students looking for an easy way to complete assignments will only get the broad strokes of these people's lives. The artists use jaunty colors and the panels are easy to follow for children new to comics. Yet the books are neither stellar in artwork nor rich with information. Even so, teachers and librarians looking to introduce their reluctant or struggling readers to prominent figures in history might want to have these titles available.—Esther Keller, I.S. 278, Marine Park, NY

Gr 3–5—Fans of adventure and action should be enthralled by the gory tale of the man-eating Cyclops, the tense account of the Trojan Horse, the tragic story of Pandora's curiosity, and the gruesome legend of the evil Gorgon sisters. Unfortunately, the books are flawed. The drawings are colorful and detailed, but stiff and occasionally unexpressive. In one panel, the King of Troy's daughters appear to be smiling as their father faces the last moments of his life. The dialogue adds little. Awkwardly expository, it is usually made redundant by the preceding narration. "Oh no! It's a Cyclops! They hate humans!" states a Greek soldier helpfully. Sometimes, however, the silly dialogue is simply irreverent, and lightens the tone. Two sea monsters gush about their hideous daughters, one of them the infamous Medusa: "Our daughters have turned out well...isn't it wonderful how terrifying they are?" All three books open with a one-page introduction to the Greeks and their myths, along with a chart of the major gods and goddesses. This is followed by a paragraph-long introduction to the specific myth, accompanied by a map charting the characters' adventures. Though the stories contain some violence, none of it is portrayed graphically. In spite of their drawbacks, these are accessible and useful sources for assignments.—Lisa Goldstein, Brooklyn Public Library, NY

Gr 7 Up—Miki is falling, both out of a window, and possibly into love, in Spring. As the story opens, the Japanese high school senior throws herself from a third-story window. The reason is not given; readers know only that it has something to do with Hiro, a handsome and mysterious new student. After serious efforts to win his friendship, Miki discovers his secret: he is a Deliverer, a superhuman being devoted to preserving love. Crilley has made the manga style of art his own, focusing particularly on the expressive eyes of his characters. His use of panels draws the story forward by showing both movement and reactions intermingled. In Summer, Miki begins to delve further into Hiro's secret world of the Deliverers. In order to keep love alive, they rescue it from couples who are falling out of love before the spark is entirely gone. But watching love is dangerous territory, and though Deliverers and humans are not allowed to fall in love with one another, Miki and Hiro are growing dangerously close. Add a jealous Deliverer after Hiro herself to the mix, and their romance only becomes more complicated. Crilley's work with panels again enhances the storytelling (in a scene with a breakup, for example, one character's expressions are shown in shards cascading down one side of the page). Readers will be eager to find out how Miki's romance progresses—and how she meets the fate foreshadowed in the first volume.—Alana Abbott, James Blackstone Memorial Library, Branford, CT

Gr 3–5—In this graphic-novel-style biography, turn-of-the-20th-century strongman Cyr looms appropriately large in the circus tent. The story of his life, starting with his early feats of strength as a young man and ending with his retirement, is told through Cyr's imagined voice as he shares the details with his young daughter. Through both artwork and text, Debon re-creates the world of the circus in the early 1900s, and endpapers show a variety of real-life circus heroes and spectacles. The folk-style illustration panels, often complemented by full-page paintings, move the story forward and place it firmly in its historical period. A short afterword, accompanied by photographs of Cyr and his family, mentions that some of the strongman's records remain undefeated. This title is likely to be popular with fans of the "Graphic Biographies" series (World Almanac Library), as well as readers drawn to a true story told in sequential style.—Alana Abbott, James Blackstone Memorial Library, Branford, CT

Gr 3–6—This second volume picks up right where A Cheese Related Mishap (Don't Eat Any Bugs, 2005) ended: the wacky kingdom of Pellmellia is covered in cheese after Professor Eggner von Shmoodledike's experiment goes awry. Reigning King Houngadounga then discovers that his palace is behind on its rent, and that a band of cookie-selling pirates is looking to usurp it. A silly, madcap adventure ensues as the two rivals compete for the kingdom. Visually exciting, this volume offers a variety of mediums from Claymation-styled art to eye-catching digital effects. Content-wise, however, Yarg! is a less-cohesive story than its predecessor, relying more on wackiness to drive the plot forward; with its high amount of action and blatant silliness, it is highly reminiscent of many Saturday-morning cartoons that are high on style and low on substance. There are three stories in this volume, mirroring the setup provided in the first collection. The second two stories are not as strong as the first, one being primarily text-based and somewhat anomalous in this graphic novel and the other, a loony sepia-toned tale of two kooky birds. Overall, this book will probably appeal to readers who enjoy a busy visual landscape and many sight gags.—Jennifer Feigelman, Goshen Public Library and Historical Society, NY

Gr 4–8—Intrepid Sardine and her wacky group of space-faring pirate friends are at it again! Not one to let odd situations slow her down, Sardine leads the gang as they confront Supermuscleman in an astoundingly creative assortment of adventures. From a planet made of fast food to a retirement home in space to a rock concert that shakes the universe, the situations the characters find themselves in are unrelentingly silly and will leave readers giggling. The bright, colorful illustrations are filled with manic action and fascinating details that will draw children in and have them coming back for more.—Dawn Rutherford, King County Library System, Bellevue, WA

Gr 5–9—These graphic histories provide fascinating human drama and detail. Four pages of opening text give background about each battle. They follow a traditional comics format: pen and ink, with each panel designed for maximum emotional impact. A general's windswept empty desk and a soldier's happy former life as he dreams are examples. Readers learn that a group of Japanese botany students was accidentally dropped off in Iwo Jima during the battle, and that the first American pilot to spot the Japanese fleet at Midway made a mistake in reporting the fleet's size. The accounts are not comprehensive but give readers a sense of the drama behind the event and its place in history. Students interested in history will likely pore over them and then move on to more in-depth titles.—John Leighton, Brooklyn Public Library, NY

Gr 4–6—Graystripe is back in a new format. After rescuing everyone in Thunderclan, he is caught by animal control and adopted by a loving family. His worst fear has come true; he's a kittypet. He grows attached to the humans but misses his true home. A dream visit from his lost love and daughter convinces him to at least try to get back to the clan. Unfortunately, after so many months inside, he is disoriented. To make matters worse, he loses a fight. He befriends Millie, a neighborhood cat who's interested in forest life. He teaches her to hunt and fight, all while improving his own dormant skills. Finally, he and Millie set out into the wild. Fans of the "Warrior" series (HarperCollins) will be happy to see this adaptation. The "manga inspired" artwork and panels work well with the story. The format allows Graystripe's imagination and emotions to be expressed. This slim first volume is mainly exposition and ends just as the action is picking up, leaving readers unsatisfied. Hopefully, volume two is on its way.—Sadie Mattox, DeKalb County Public Library, Decatur, GA

Gr 2–4—Sticky Burr is a quiet little burr, interested in the creative arts. He writes, paints, and plays the ukulele. He's not at all prickly like Scurvy Burr and Spiny Burr. As one might expect, Scurvy and his buddies tease and taunt him, and chase him out of the forest. With the help of several friends, Sticky gets away from the gang, and his escape leads to more adventures. He arrives back home to save Burrwood Forest from wild dogs. The burrs are very grateful, at least most of them. Scurvy is not so enamored of the hero, and there are hints of more adventures to come. Written in graphic-novel style, the lively and sometimes punny dialogue leads young readers through Sticky's exciting escapades. There are occasional pauses with a page to identify "Insects I Have Known," "Dangers in the Forest," and "Sticky Situations." The illustrations are simple, colorful, and easy to follow. A little reminiscent of the Smurfs, Sticky Burr and his friends will appeal to younger graphic-novel fans.—Carolyn Janssen, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH

Gr 4 Up—Each book includes adaptations of three classic stories that were first printed in Boys' Life. Much-abbreviated versions of The Hound of the Baskervilles, Macbeth, and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow appear in Murder. Travel includes The Travels of Marco Polo, Moby-Dick, and Gulliver's Travels. Each one is only about 15 pages long and moves quickly, with little narrative to provide context beyond the dialogue and images. Because of this, some of the selections may be confusing to readers unfamiliar with the original works. The artwork is action-filled and attention-grabbing. Any bloodshed in Murder takes place "offstage." Images are well chosen. Lady Macbeth's bloodstained hands and Banquo's ghost are sufficient to create a sense of horror and suspense. The colors and type help to set the mood for each tale. Brief biographical information about the classic writers includes an account of how the work was received during its time. There is at least one inaccuracy: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle could hardly have died before he was born. Overall, these volumes are satisfying additions.—Neala Arnold, St. Francis Elementary School, MN

Gr 4–10—An interesting fictional account of Harry Houdini's jump from Harvard Bridge in Cambridge, MA, on May 1, 1908. The action moves a bit slowly, but the story demonstrates one of the possible secrets of Houdini's escapes—many have theorized that his wife slipped him keys or lock picks via a kiss. An introduction and discussions of specific panels at the end give further information about the magician, his knack for promotion, and his hard work figuring out countless ways to escape handcuffs, sealed containers, etc. The black, white, and gray drawings are reasonably good—while at times they are flat, the tight focus on the action keeps the story moving. If you have patrons interested in Houdini, escape artists, or graphic novels about real people, this would be a useful addition.—Nancy Kunz, Tuckahoe Public Library, NY

Gr 6–9—About to move to a new home, Dean reminisces about his experiences playing soldiers in the woods behind his house with three neighborhood friends until an encounter with a homeless man changed everything. He recounts his initiations into the group, and the problems he had with authority at home and at school, occasionally representing situations in the style of classic four-color war comics. The story is organized in a series of formalized chapters, with grand headings and title pages that give the impression that it is more of an anthology comic than a series of connected vignettes. The color work is lovely throughout, especially the way it re-creates vintage war comics. The line work, however, is done in the rough, impressionistic manner characteristic of many independent and art comics, and may not appeal to readers looking for the clean, hyperrealistic depictions in more commercial comics. In particular, the main characters, while of an indeterminate age, are clearly supposed to be young, but don't immediately strike one as so—particularly the elongated faces of Dean and his friend John. More problematic is the central revelation of the main character, which, while doing a good job of tying together the various vignettes, doesn't successfully sell itself as the natural result of the circumstances. This could well be due to the jumbled agelessness of the characters, as one isn't quite convinced that Dean is old enough to really have an epiphany of this depth and eloquence.—Benjamin Russell, Belmont High School, NH

Gr 7–9—Multiple stories of life during middle school are told in an indie comix style that might appeal to the zine crowd in terms of raw art, construction, and subject matter. Common themes of alienation, adjustment, popularity, and burgeoning sexual drives can be found in the various tales—with accompanying charged language—but what is most striking is their collective open-ended lack of structure and conclusion. While the stories take transition and formative awareness to heart, the recurring vignette format prevents most of the offerings from providing much in the way of a discernable message or point beyond the evocative emotional content. The volume subsequently has a therapeutic vibe, with the stories—even while not contemporary in most of their settings—existing simply to show that the situations in which readers may find themselves are common. But the sharing seems less helpful for prospective readers than it seems purgative to the contributors, as little solace can be found in moments that hang on the page without any clear direction. The artwork is quite varied, but does exemplify that there are many ways of expressing oneself, and that traditional comic-book structures can be adapted or subverted in order to create a personal storytelling technique. In this fashion, the book does more artistically to demonstrate the potential of individual expression than the generic themes and the somewhat meandering plotting.—Benjamin Russell, Belmont High School, NH

Gr 8 Up—Ginko is a Mushishi, or a mushi master. He travels around Japan studying and controlling mushi, otherworldly beings that often latch on to humans in harmful ways. They live in a boy's ears and feed on sounds, they breed in a girl's eyes, and they even infect a man's dreams. The illustrations of their wide-eyed, haunted victims should draw readers into the story, and the layouts are inventive, with overlapping panels of varying shapes and sizes and cinematic, abrupt cuts between panels. While this title is less accessible than other, more action-filled manga, teens interested in the paranormal and fans of manga's extreme drama will enjoy it.—Lisa Goldstein, Brooklyn Public Library, NY

Gr 10 Up—This successful transformation of Gaiman's Neverwhere (HarperCollins, 1997) into a graphic novel will delight fans of the book and appeal to readers unfamiliar with his story of London Below. Richard Mayhew stumbles upon a subterranean city when he comes to the aid of a mysterious woman called Door. Pursued by two vicious and bloodthirsty thugs, they undertake a quest to discover the person responsible for murdering Door's family. During their journey, they encounter talking rats, an angel, and a fierce beast that they must defeat in order to survive. The illustrations are both stunning and full of surprises. While the imagery might differ from the London Below that readers of Gaiman's original narrative imagined, Fabry has invented a world that captures its mood. Carey's adaptation of a BBC TV series is faithful to Gaiman's story, although the shorter format necessarily leads to abbreviations and omissions. Carey places Mayhew in the role of narrator, and the compact retelling makes for a fast-paced adventure.—Heidi Dolamore, San Mateo County Library, CA

Gr 10 Up—Some centuries in the future, there is a deep freeze, and archaeologists, accompanied by genetically enhanced dogs, set out to seek places that once were. Such is the exploring party to which Gregor, Reynald, Juliette, the bespectacled pig-dog Hulk, and others belong. Trekking across the vast tundra, they literally fall into the ruins of the Louvre, which they misinterpret as the private home of an individual who belonged to a civilization lacking in alphabetic writing, a culture that communicated solely in images. Although the paintings in this vast house are mute, the statues, mummies, and objets anciens contain spiritual life, and Hulk is able to speak with them as readily as he can converse with his contemporary humans. In this first of four books to be coproduced with the Louvre, De Crecy's storytelling is agile, witty, and peppered with surprising twists. The beautiful and muted watercolor panels are tiny and luminous, dusted by windblown snow and lit by campfires. An appendix provides a guide to the works depicted within the tale. Graphic novel readers of a literary bent will find this fun, while art and history teachers will want to know about it as supplemental curriculum reading.—Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA

Gr 10 Up—This collection of comics, composed of stories originally published in the early 1980s, is the first in a series presenting the oevre in chronological order. At the center are Maggie and Hopey, friends who are as at home among spaceships as they are partying at punk shows. Hernandez weaves together an elaborate cast of characters, including pro wrestlers, millionaires, and superheroes. Maggie's job as an assistant mechanic takes her to distant lands, where she encounters rebel uprisings and dinosaurs. Yet beneath the SF veneer, these comics depict day-to-day life and conversations among friends. The stories have aged well, and their playful sense of adventure and scrappy protagonists will appeal to today's readers, including teens who have had access to 20 years of alternative graphic-novel storytelling. With a combination of short comic strips and longer serializations, this is the type of book one can open to any page and start reading. Hernandez uses a classic, ink-heavy illustration style set against a narrative that features heroes who are anything but typical. His realistic yet stylized portraits have exaggerated elements that are a perfect match to the hyperreal and humorous narrative. "Las Locas," as Maggie and her Chicana friends are called, all have endearing flaws and are relentless in their pursuit of fun.—Heidi Dolamore, San Mateo County Library, CA

Gr 10 Up—The complexities and isolation of modern-day urban life are lushly represented through Lonergan's well-executed black-and-white line art and brushwork. Written in journal style and covering a period of eight months, this graphic novel is split into chapterlike segments. Each opening page is divided into two rectangular panels. The first one provides the date of occurrence and an explanatory title. The second portrays an emotionally or psychologically imbued iconographic representation of the latter. Each entry then unfolds as a story in itself, a segment in the narrator's life, beginning on 5/20 with the title "I think I'm dying." Self-loathing Kyle finds himself alone, living in a strange city with a dead-end job, suffering from a debilitating case of existential angst. He soon meets the girl next door, Erika, a young woman in the same predicament. A casual, noncommittal romance unfolds. Emotions fluctuate wildly between sexual attraction for one another and intellectualized repulsion. Fear of loneliness drives Kyle to hold onto Erika until the relationship fades away as quickly as it flowered. The final chapter, dated 1/16 and entitled "I feel fine," provides closure for both readers and protagonist. Receiving a flippant postcard from Erika as she travels through Europe with another guy, Kyle finds himself alone again but self-satisfied. Lonergan's mastery of visual sequential storytelling (many panels are wordless) thoroughly engages readers.—Jodi Mitchell, Durham County Library, NC

Gr 10 Up—Ghoulish and gothic, The Dark Goodbye opens with the biggest noir cliché ever: a beautiful blond woman walks into the shuttered office of a boozy P.I. Livinia wants to hire Max, the chronically soused narrator, to find her sister Mary and to keep her out of the trouble she's in. Fair enough, Max says, except that Mary's trouble involves ghouls, gigantic insects, and underwater shipwrecks hiding sharp-toothed, tentacled creatures. Max stops in any dive bar he notices; in one, he meets Dot, a pigtailed, acid-tongued young woman who takes him into the underworld of the city. The artwork is monolithically dark and angular; the various monsters are drawn in a winking, super-grotesque style. While this is an all black-and-white book with heavy horror imagery, it feels fun and light to read, perhaps because of Max's nickname "Mutt" and his insouciant manner. A niche-interest title that may or may not take off.—John Leighton, Brooklyn Public Library, NY

Gr 10 Up—Nilsen's narrative lens focuses narrowly on a lone traveler wandering in a desolate landscape. In a series of simple black-line drawings that dissolve into the whiteness of the page, an unnamed man clad in a hoodie stumbles through a desertlike environment with a stuffed bear strapped to his backpack. The bear is both a source of companionship and the target of frustrated outrage. Wild dogs pursue the traveler; after fending off their attack, he joins the pack, sleeping among them and walking alongside them as they march toward the empty horizon. The journey is punctuated by dreams of a vast ocean, illustrated in muted and ashen blue tones. The sparse narrative leaves many questions unanswered, offering no explanations for how or why any of this has come to pass. Events are depicted with an eerie sense of detachment, underscoring the bleak circumstances in which the young man is trapped. Nilsen conveys a sense of isolation, loneliness, and alienation within a loose framework that leaves itself open to myriad interpretations. Teens interested in independent comics or independent film will be attracted to it.—Heidi Dolamore, San Mateo County Library, CA

Gr 10 Up—Rodriguez discovered that message-filled postcards for sale in antique stores and flea markets can make excellent prompts for writers and artists. Each of the 16 short stories collected here opens with an image of the real postcard message that the creators then gave new life—or explanation—in the form of its imagined premise or effect. The message writers range from a man shipping out during World War II to a woman writing affectionately to another woman in 1917, from an exceedingly brief note, posted in 1909, abjuring the recipient to "look under stamp," to an only slightly more expansive apology from the sender who could not go fishing with the recipient. The woven tales are set in the appropriate historical periods and show such possibilities as the soldier's subsequent battle heroics, the fate of a friendship sundered by class differences, an antic fable of tic-tac-toe con artists, the death of a young girl's mother, and more. Contributing writers include Ande Parks, Phillip Hester, and Rick Spears. A coda to the volume is Harvey Pekar and Joyce Babner's own story of their marriage as it relates to postcards, with art by Matt Kindt. This book will delight browsers and has a place in creative-writing classes, as well as offering supplementary material for American-history students in search of slice-of-life insights. Libraries are featured in no fewer than a quarter of these tales.—Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA

Gr 10 Up—Willingham continues the devilishly twisted, wonderfully imagined tales of Fabletown in the eighth volume of this Eisner Award-winning series. Fabletown is a small village hidden in contemporary upstate New York where real-life versions of fairy-tale characters live out their lives. This book opens with Mowgli tracking down the exiled Bigby (the Big Bad Wolf) through the frozen territories of Russia and the deep forests of Alaska. Once found, he is offered a deal. In exchange for completing two dangerous tasks revolving around an impending war with the power-hungry puppet maker, Gepetto, Bigby will earn a reprieve. He will finally be allowed to move to the outskirts of Fabletown and live with his beloved Snow White and their young child. Much of this volume focuses on closing old plot threads and creating new ones for future issues. But Willingham does a solid job of explaining the background quickly, and the focus on Bigby's redemption creates a strong enough story line that it's still enjoyable for readers new to the series. The artwork blends realistic figures with slight touches of cartoony flash in the background. It works well with the mix of fantasy and realism in the story. While not as dark or as overtly postmodern as Neil Gaiman's The Sandman (DC Comics), this series holds much the same appeal to smart teens who enjoy quirky, inventive stories capable of breathing new life into the genre of fantasy and the form of the comic book.—Matthew L. Moffett, Pohick Regional Library, Burke, VA

Gr 10 Up—In Willingham's "Fables" series (Vertigo), Jack Horner was kicked out of the magical realm for selling his life story to Hollywood. Homeless and trying to figure out the next step in his immortal life, this Jack is kidnapped and imprisoned in the Golden Boughs Retirement Community, a jail run by power-mad librarians who want to make the human world forget about magic. Along with the help of other fabled characters like Goldilocks and Mother Goose, he devises a wild plan to escape. In "Fables," Jack is the character readers love to hate: arrogant, self-serving, and totally pompous. But in this storyline, he is at the bottom of the barrel, forced to use all his strength, scheming, and luck to crawl back out. Akins and Pepoy's art is fairly realistic, but with some quick dips into the cartoony. They are particularly adept at communicating subtext through facial expressions and use those skills to foreshadow some important plot twists. With its brief nudity, sexual situations, and portrayals of death, this graphic novel is for older teens.—Matthew L. Moffett, Pohick Regional Library, Burke, VA

Gr 11 Up—In a not too distant future, America has undergone its second civil war. New Jersey and inland have deemed themselves "the Free States," while Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island are still known as "The United States of America." Stuck in the middle of these warring sides is Manhattan, now known as the DMZ. Fledgling photojournalist Matty Roth is sent with a news crew to film the story from the inside—something no news organization has been able to do. Once his aircraft lands, his crewmates are slaughtered and their helicopter blown up. Matty, committed to revealing the horrors of living in a war zone, must learn to survive if he wants to expose the truth. Readers will be riveted by Matty's story of not only physical survival, but also of his determination to keep his emotional health stable. Dark, engaging, and addictive, this story line will create instant fans of its readers. Wood's depiction of a war-ravaged Manhattan spares nothing—the horrors, the brutality, and the senselessness of war are clearly depicted. This volume should be of high consideration in public libraries looking for solid titles for older teens. Give it to fans of Brian K. Vaughan's "Ex Machina" series (Wildstorm). They will appreciate the mix of action and smart political commentary.—Jennifer Feigelman, Goshen Public Library and Historical Society, NY

Gr 11 Up—The free army militia has spread from the West into New Jersey and is banging on the bridges and tunnels of Manhattan. What's left is a group of civilians, some there to rebel, some with nowhere else to go. When Matty Roth finds that the senior journalist with whom he came to New York isn't dead, as he thought, but is being held hostage by the Free States Army, Matty becomes a pawn in all sides of the conflict. Front and center are many of the concerns of 21st-century American life, such as homeland security, the trustworthiness of the media, and the motivations of our government. Wood ably shows how life goes on for those in a war zone, even as superficially it seems to be destroyed. Burchielli and Donaldson's artwork elevates the story to another level. Much of it is standard adventure-comic fare, but with the graffiti-addled details of a recognizable but unfamiliar Manhattan displaying the deadly mood. The art is enhanced by multiple full-page spreads that share the layout and palette of actual graffiti stencils. A harsh light is shown on America, and the characters, especially Matty, both defend and decry it, frequently with much profanity. But what else could be expected from someone deployed in a war zone?—Jamie Watson, Harford County Public Library, MD