http://ungraphic.wizarduniverse.com A blog that reviews books that dispell that nasty rumor that comics are kidstuff by examining comics through the lens of literature, art, religion, psychology, philosophy and whatever else comes our way! Sun, 31 Aug 2008 03:07:54 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The Book of Lies By Brad Meltzer (Grand Central Publishing, 2008) I’ll bet you’re wondering what a fiction novel has to do with the mission of “The UnGraphic Novel” to review books that give credibility to comics as a legitimate form of art and literature. Right? Let me explain. The author, Brad ... http://ungraphic.wizarduniverse.com/2008/08/30/the-book-of-lies/ The Gospel According to the World's Greatest Superhero By Stephen Skelton (Harvest House, 2006) The Judeo-Christian parallels to Superman have become less subtle over the past decade, taking an even bigger leap after the blatantly Christian allegories presented in Bryan Singer's 2006 film, "Superman Returns." The question remains, however: was Superman created ... http://ungraphic.wizarduniverse.com/2008/07/06/the-gospel-according-to-the-worlds-greatest-superhero/ The Psychology of Superheroes By Robin Rosenberg, Ph.D. (Benbella Books, 2008) Y'know, as a writer myself, I love to know what makes a character tick. What makes them who they are, and what makes them do what they do. It's a fascinating subject and a great way to understand the character if ... http://ungraphic.wizarduniverse.com/2008/06/16/the-psychology-of-superheroes/ The Man from Krypton Edited by Glenn Yeffeth (BenBella Books, 2006) MFK (abbreviated because I’m lazy) is a collection of essays, examining Superman through the lens of romance, politics, sociology, psychology and all those other -ologies. As with any collection of essays, I found it rather hit-or-miss. Some of the essays were ... http://ungraphic.wizarduniverse.com/2008/06/07/the-man-from-krypton/ Batman Unmasked By Will Brooker (Continuum Books, 2001) Right from the start, the title of this book was misleading. I picked it up thinking it was an analysis of what kind of man would put on a cape and cowl and fight crime to avenge his parent's death. Instead, what I got was ... http://ungraphic.wizarduniverse.com/2008/05/26/batman-unmasked/ Our Gods Wear Spandex By Chris Knowles (Weiser Books, 2007) In OUR GODS WEAR SPANDEX, author Christopher Knowles examines comics as a form of modern storytelling passing down achetypes from the most ancient of civilizations, societies and religions. But was the book any good? Quite honestly, I think it fell just a little short ... http://ungraphic.wizarduniverse.com/2008/05/18/our-gods-wear-spandex/ >> Back to The UnGraphic Novel RYAN SCOTT OTTNEY is a writer and journalist, from New Boston, Ohio, who has written for news media, comic books, public relations and more. He has written comic books for pay and/or print, for publishers such as Marvel Comics, Digital Webbing, Blue Water Productions, Alias ... http://ungraphic.wizarduniverse.com/2008/05/12/about-ryan/ The Ten-Cent Plague By David Hajdu (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008) Most of us already know of the crusade against comics waged by Fredric Wertham in the first half of the 20th century, but how many people know about Sterling North, Anthony Comstock, or Estes Kefauver? The sad truth is, Wertham was not ... http://ungraphic.wizarduniverse.com/2008/05/12/the-ten-cent-plague/ Welcome to the newest column at Wizard Universe (as of this writing), called The UnGraphic Novel! I'm your host, Ryan Scott Ottney, and each week I'll be sharing my reviews of books about comics. Books that explore comics through a serious criticism, such as religion, philosophy, history, sociology, psychology, mythology, ... http://ungraphic.wizarduniverse.com/2008/05/12/chapter-one/