Book report: The Escapists, written by Brian K. Vaughan, various artists, characters created by Michael Chabon

Why does “escapism” have such a negative connotation? So much of life is built around escaping. What else are movies, theater, music, sports, TV, books, and margaritas about? We are blessed with brains that enable us not only to deal with reality, but also pretend that it doesn’t exist. Who doesn’t enjoy a good story of escape? So, why does escapism get such a bad rap?

How can I explain The Escapists? A few years ago, Michael Chabon wrote a great novel, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. That was about two Jewish young men, Kavalier and Clay, who write a comic book about their original character, The Escapist, who helps people get out of dangerous situations.

This current graphic novel, The Escapists, takes place in the world of Kavalier and Clay. Max, another Jewish young man discovers his deceased father’s collection of Escapist memorabilia. The young man begins writing his own Escapist stories, and then enlists Case Weaver to illustrate them, and his friend Denny to letter them.

The book moves between the fictional adventures of the character and the real-life challenges of the creative team to get their comic published. They are using the comic to escape their lives. Max is escaping his lonely life after the deaths of his parents. Case is escaping her inability to find other markets for her artistic ability. Denny is escaping his family’s construction company.

This book inspires us to escape. It reminds us that escape isn’t always escape FROM, but sometimes escape TO. We need to remember that. We all have somewhere we want to – we should – escape to. Go for it.


http://library.minlib.net/search~S1?/tthe+escapists/tescapists/1%2C1%2C2%2CB/frameset&FF=tescapists&2%2C%2C2

http://www.amazon.com/Escapists-Brian-K-Vaughan/dp/1595823611/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315689794&sr=8-1

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

movie report: I Am Number Four (2011)

movie report: I Am Number Four (2011) I aimed to see this movie when it came out, for these reasons: • From the trailer, it looked like people had super powers. • It has a number in the title, upping its geek score. • The number in the title might actually be a character’s name, like Seven of Nine, which pushes its geek score into the stratosphere. But I didn’t, because it didn’t last too long in theaters because of terrible reviews. I watched it on DVD, and right off the bat, it started doing things I don’t like in movies, such as: • Introducing someone I thought was the main character, then killing him off within 5 minutes. • Dark and murky scenes where I can’t tell who’s who and what’s going on. • Characters talk soft and mumbly: can’t understand what they’re saying. • Confusion about who the good guys and bad guys are. • Introduction of 3 young good-looking carefree guys riding on jet skis on the ocean: I do not want to sit through a 2-hour Pepsi commercial. ...
Read more
Book report: Guards! Guards!, by Terry Pratchett I love Terry Pratchett’s books, and this is one of the best. If you aren’t aware of Terry Pratchett, he writes what I would call comedy fantasy. Think along the lines of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy meets Lord of the Rings. These stories all take place on DiscWorld, which is a world of oceans and continents like ours, only flat and round like a pancake, and sitting on the back of four immense elephants, which are in turn on the back of a gigantic tortoise, which is swimming endlessly through space. Given that setting, almost anything can happen. This installment has two main plot lines, which at first seem to have nothing to do with each other, but soon intersect and intertwine. One plot has to do with the City Watch, the city being Ankh-Morpork, that hive of low-level villainy. As you’d imagine in a hive of low-level villainy, the police don’t so much fight crime as hold crime’s coat while crime goes about its business. To th...
Read more

Movie report: Limitless (2011)

Movie report: Limitless Eddie (I love movies with characters named Eddie, although they are usually losers) is a loser. His wife divorced him. He lives in a sty of an apartment. He drinks too much. He somehow got someone to give him an advance to write a book, but he’s pissed that money away and hasn’t written a word. Then he runs into [SPOILER ALERT: many spoilers ahead] his ex-brother-in-law, who slips him a pill without much explanation. Eddie, being that kind of guy, takes the pill. The effect of the pill is amazing. Eddie becomes hyper-observant of his surroundings, able to access any information in his mind (not just the 10-20% we supposedly do), and sharp enough to put things together to solve any and all problems. He helps his landlord’s wife write a paper for law school, cleans his apartment, and writes half of the book he’s supposed to be working on. The movie looks different during these parts: enhanced colors, sharper, more focused, more energized. Eddie’s ey...
Read more