With summer rolling around, and the kids home full-time for a couple of months, there is no better time for this book.

Ty Burr, whom I read and enjoyed for many years while he worked for ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, has put together an amazing and thorough guide for exactly how to entertain the younger set and introduce them to decades worth of movies at the same time. Any parent who has ever wondered if it is possible to get their kids to sit through black and white, or to appreciate film noir… Burr has the answers for you.

And he has them laid out quite nicely, too. Burr first starts by discussing age-appropriate films, with sections for toddlers (ex. BRINGING UP BABY), tweeners (THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL), and then teenagers (SEVEN SAMURAI). From there, he presents chapters on comedies, dramas, musicals, other genres… and even films to avoid showing your kids (even if they seem like a good idea- Burr showed the original KING KONG way too early and ruined it for his kids).

Burr also wisely presents information to put the films in context, whether it’s background about the making of the movie of what he calls a “pause button explanation”, where you might need to present a child with some background information to help make the movie make sense (such as what Prohibition was and how it affected the country).

As an added bonus, I have to admit that I took weeks to pore through this book, devouring information that made me want to fill in the blanks on some of my own classic film education (and making me want to re-watch some of the movies that I enjoyed in my childhood as well). For parents, non-parents, and children alike, this is a wonderfully valuable resource, and I highly recommend it. It will be worth every penny you pay for it and more.

Marc Mason

When a superhero is having “issues” he or she needs resolved, where do they turn? To Dr. Brain of course. She’s the psychologist to the superheroes. In FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF DR. BRAIN, a group of superheroes have to go to counseling. Now that the fight against evil has been won, office politics are wrecking havoc on the super powered crew, young and old. The six heroes range from those who first put on the costumes to newbies, but they all have one thing in common: dysfunctionality. However, hopefully through therapy and simulations they can confront their issues and get back to being happy super friends.

On the surface, I can see where some might find this book a little on the slow or dull side, but I ultimately found it to be entertaining and built upon a very interesting concept. It’s written as a self-help book for super heroes, so it takes a little time to get used to reading a fiction book that doubles as self-help pastiche. Faust’s characters are fascinating, even if they have cheesy names like The Flying Squirrel or Omnipotent Man; there are characters that you love and ones that you love to hate, but they all hold your interest. For an easy read that is at times humorous, and which for me made me realize that even the super-powered have mental blips too, I would recommend this. As someone who has read her fair share of self-help books, it was enjoyable to see someone else being analyzed or a change.

Ericka Stricklett

Boy saves girl from old drunk on train. Girl sends boy Hermes teacups. Boy freaks out. What is a techie geeky boy to do? Turn to his comrades in arms of course. TRAIN MAN tells the story of how a sweet, gentle young man helped protect some women on the train home from work from a drunk, and how he eventually found the courage to completely change his life and win the woman he loves.

The true-to-life based novel, which spawned at least three different mangas and a smash hit feature film, is written as a log of postings from a message board; the actual message board that the real Train Man participated in during this process. It is the advice he receives from his fellow board posters in how to dress, where to take her to dine, and how to finally (gulp) tell Miss Hermes (as she becomes known on the message board) how he feels about her that propels the book (as well as the boy) forward through this heartwarming romance.

Hitori Nakano shows how the Japanese court in a relationship. For a helpless romantic like me it is filled with those “Aaaaahhhhhhh” moments that makes a girl wish American men would read this book. It took the characters five dates before they even kissed! That is most unusual to hear about, let alone think about putting in to practice. It is wonderful to see, in this charming book, how love can blossom, and how one awkward boy found himself in the position, aided by his fellow nerds, to beat the odds and get the girl of his dreams. Every girl who is a romantic at heart, and every guy who wants to be, should read this book.

Ericka Stricklett

A couple of years ago, I reviewed a self-published comic called FAILURE, INCOMPETENCE by Tom Pappalardo, and gave it a pretty heavy panning. The biggest problem was that Pappalardo was just not a very accomplished artist as far as comics went. Now, many times when you lay out an indy creator in a review, you’ll never hear from them again; I say that, because I tend to have a healthy respect for those with the stones to come back for more. So I tip my cap to Pappalardo for standing up and taking another swing.

BROKEN LINES, to his credit, is something completely different. It is actually a prose work, with some illustrations spread throughout the book. But while the illustrations come across weakly on the whole (there hasn’t been a lot of artistic growth here), the prose part is absolutely terrific fun. Pappalardo’s true gift kicks into gear when he puts the pencil down and starts typing.

Maggie is a waitress working at a highway diner when her life takes a bizarre turn; one of her morning tables is comprised of a cowboy in full-regalia and a man in a spacesuit. But that isn’t the weirdest part of her day; when she gets home, her home is attacked by demons called “firemen” whose job is to burn property and kill the owners, sending them straight to Hell. Fortunately, Maggie has a chance to survive when the cowboy and spaceman show up to save the day and rescue her… along with the help of their other friend, a vampire.

Swerving between quirky and flat-out strange, BROKEN LINES is a very amusing little tale. It’s completely unpredictable, and not once do you ever feel like you know where it’s headed. That’s a nice feeling to have, and even though you’re only a fourth of the way into the full story, you still walk away from this first part feeling satisfied. The story is also told in the present tense, which is rare these days, making it an even more unique read. Congrats all the way around to Pappalardo on delivering a solidly creative effort.

Marc Mason

THINGS ARE MEANING LESS is an interesting little book. First comes the struggle to define exactly what it is; certainly it’s a memoir, as Burian guides the reader through his travels and angst. But as to whether or not it is a graphic novel or an illustrated prose book, that’s an entirely different question. The book combines both in heavy doses; many sections are carried strictly by Burian’s cartooning, yet perhaps even more of the book is handwritten prose accompanying the pictures or even pushing them away completely.
 
The confessional nature of the stories Burian tells here reminded me very much of the work of Jeffrey Brown, though I actually liked Burian’s work better. Brown’s work tends to be annoying and whiny, but Burian does a very good job of putting his problems on the page and not waving his dick at them. You see him, you see what’s wrong with him, and he doesn’t need to tell you just how big of a fuck up he might be at that moment. I really respected the way he handled those moments.

Unfortunately, like Brown, I wouldn’t call Burian an accomplished cartoonist by any stretch. His figures are stiff and uninvolving, and his storytelling through the art is slow and pedantic at best. But he does show a much better grasp of story on the writing side of things. When he jumps out and gets his prose motor revving, the book comes alive, and you get a strong sense of exactly what he is trying to accomplish on the page.

Ultimately then, this is a work of illustrated prose, and if not a great one, well it’s still pretty decent. I’ve become fairly inured to confessionals over the last few years, so it takes a lot for something in the genre to light me on fire. But if you like cartoonists like Brown, then I have no hesitations about recommending Burian for a reading experience you’d enjoy.

Marc Mason