Tom GauldRecensioni

Mooncop goes about his daily routine on the moon, where the population is dwindling fast. He has a 100% crime solution rate, mainly because there is no crime. He gets a donut and coffee, looks for a lost dog, and sees people off at the jetport.

Both funny and melancholy, this graphic novel addresses the existential loneliness that results from automation and the advances of technology. The drawings are simple line drawings set against a background of midnight blue. Although I enjoyed Mooncop, I prefer the author's book and librarian comics.

Obra de unos de los autores de cómic más aplaudidos en Gran Bretaña, Goliat hace gala de
un ingenio lleno de sensibilidad y un osado diseño al reconsiderar, reelaborar y revolucionar una historia tradicional.
Goliat de Gat no es gran guerrero. Si tiene alternativa, preferirá sin titubear ocuparse del papeleo a hacer las rondas, por no hablar del disgusto que le provoca entrar en combate. Sin embargo, por orden del rey, se verá desafiando cada día a los israelitas: ?Escoged un hombre que venga contra mí. Si venciere, nosotros seremos vuestros siervos; y si yo lo venciere, vosotros seréis nuestros siervos?.

Summary
This modern fairy tale is about a little wooden robot and his log princess sister. Each night the princess turns back into a log. She must be woken up with the magic words “Awake, little log, awake,” but one day when the log princess is still asleep as a log she gets thrown away! Her brother, the wooden robot, goes on a journey to bring the log princess back home!

Review
This was the most adorable fairy tale! It brought a smile to my face at the end. You were rooting for the little robot the whole time trying to save his sister. I liked how instead of turning to a dark ending, it ended happily ever after. The story could almost continue with a sequel.

The illustrations made this book so magical. It was beautifully drawn and delightful.½

1. Brief summary: This is a fairytale-esque book about a little wooden robot and his log princess sister. The log princess turns into a log when she falls asleep, and she can only be awoken when someone says the magic words: "Awake, little log, awake." One day, the log princess (when in log form) gets thrown away. The little wooden robot goes on a journey to find the log princess and bring her back home.
2. Awarded Best Illustrated Children's Book by The New York Times
3. Connections to classic fairy tales
4. Eye-catching, crisp, and detailed illustrations that will keep the reader/listener engaged
5. Activity idea: Creating a new story based on the adventures that the little wood robot went on that were not recounted in the book (i.e. The Giant's Key, The Family of Robbers, The Old Lady in a Bottle, The Magic Pudding, The Lonely Bear, and The Queen of the Mushrooms)

This was a Christmas 2023 gift. Totally unexpected and what a treat! I am a librarian, but one does NOT have to be this in order to have a good laugh. Filled with rifs on titles, publishing, wanna-be-authors and their angst, this is chock full of visual commentary. A great way to relax after a tiring day!

This is my 4th Tom Gauld book and I still want more. The comics are so funny and clever. A lot of literary references and creative humor.

A quote from one of my favorites:

"Cut this out and carry it with you at all times.
In the event of my death I would like to be memorialized with (tick one box):

-Small plaque
-Heroic statue
-Spooky tree
-Colossal Ziggurat
-Haunted fruit machine
-Network of secret tunnels"

I would choose the secret tunnels, except they would have to be under the library :)

This book nearly gave me an existential crisis.
Definitely not the usual Tom Gauld. Not really humorous (to me anyway) and kind of sad. I did want more after it was over (it's so short!), but just to know more of the story. It was not very satisfying to read.

Didn't enjoy it as much as Baking with Kafka, but still fun.

I love these comics! So many literary ones scattered throughout.

A book of one per page mostly literary cartoons. The canon that gets referened is somewhat limited, and relies heavily on the reader having a similar cultural context. I was excited by the one that referenced J G Ballard, rather than dead English writers (I'm oversimplifying. but 'classics of the English tradition' at the very least).

There were multiple points at which I was all That Isn't Funny - reference to an anti-Semitic trope, and mixing of ableist words in with more lighthearted terms as if they all had the same weight. There may well be others I missed. Plus there were a couple of just nasty ones about sports fans. There is no need to belittle that which others love just to celebrate yours.

A collection of cartoons about books, novelists, and bibliophiles, Revenge of the Librarians was a fun collection to browse. His artwork is colorful and simple, and I enjoyed all the literary references. I was a bit disappointed that there weren't more librarian jokes, given the title. Many of the cartoons are about novelists and the writing/publishing process.½

4.33⭐

This collection of humorous literary comics is an absolute delight! Read my mini review here.½

Very fun book. I enjoyed the silly humor and gentle jabs at those who write.

Full colour book, quick read, just for fun; many literary references. Very funny. Ulysses, Shakespeare, Lear, Mao, Dan Brown, Dawkins, and more.

A sweet (but looong) story about a little wooden robot and a log princess. In summary, the log princess accidentally get's taken away when she is in her log state. The robot adventures to find her, but can't continue the journey alone. He wakes her and soon after he's too tired to walk, so she continues their journey home. She eventually falls back asleep and turns into a log. A witch helps bring them both back to life and back to their parents castle. A great story to show how siblings will do anything for one another, and how selfless acts can help you in return. The illustrations are extremely well done and are in great detail!

This fairy tale is the story of a King and Queen who had children made from magical elements. The princess was made from a log and accidentally got thrown out the window, so the wooden robot goes on a quest to find and bring the princess home.

I adored this unusual tale, very often in the story, I anticipated things going wrong, but was very pleased with the ending, The students at both my schools may enjoy it. It wish there were a word for uniqely quirky...unusually well done!

Lots of little inside jokes about books, reading, and writing that aren't particularly funny or original. Not for me.

After several years since reading it, I cannot recall any details.

A comic novel, strong on the drawings.

First sentence: Now that you are my bride, you will never leave this castle! Wow! Your library is amazing!

Premise/plot: A collection of book-themed comic strips. Each strip stands alone. All are connected loosely by the theme of books. There are comic strips about writing, editing, publishing, reading, reviewing, and librarying. (Okay, there's no such word. Being a librarian.) The strips also address the pandemic.

My thoughts: Each strip stands alone. Some I loved. Some I didn't. Most fall in neutral territory. It was a quick and easy read. It sometimes made me smile. I think my favorite came towards the end of the book. (There are NO page numbers. This was a little bit frustrating.) "Review Dice"

Quote:
Can't decide what kind of book review to write? Simply cut out, assemble, and roll this helpful dice! Hatchet job; super-detailed, spoiler-filled retelling; brutally polite dismissal; elegant and insightful analysis; rambling personal essay that barely mentions the book; ecstatic love letter.

The idea of combining my favourite comic strip artist with my favourite genre of fiction appealed greatly to me, but alas this book proved to be rather too short for my liking, and lacked depth. However, it is a short and entertaining story about the last two inhabitants in the moon's colony. Very lonely.

Gauld is a contemporary classic and this collection of strips related to literature and the book world in general is a gem.

Tom Gauld returns with his wittiest and most trenchant collection of literary cartoons to date. Perfectly composed drawings are punctuated with the artist’s signature brand of humour, hitting high and low. After all, Gauld is just as comfortable taking jabs at Jane Eyre and Game of Thrones.

Some particularly favoured targets include the pretentious procrastinating novelist, the commercial mercenary of the dispassionate editor, the willful obscurantism of the vainglorious poet. Quake in the presence of the stack of bedside books as it grows taller! Gnash your teeth at the ever-moving deadline that the writer never meets! Quail before the critic’s incisive dissection of the manuscript! And most importantly, seethe with envy at the paragon of creative productivity!

[[Tom Gauld]] is my very favorite cartoonist about books, authors, librarians and all things of the written word. How could I not love this clever collection!½