During a book sale this summer, I picked up a copy of a graphic novel called The Sign of the Black Rock:
It looked like it was for kids, but I said what the heck and bought it anyway. I like graphic novels, and it was only a quarter, so I had nothing to lose. Recently I got around to reading it, figuring it would be a quick read and I could toss it in the donation pile when I was done.
But when I was done, I didn't want to get rid of it! It was really good. The art was great, the writing was even better, and the flow of action from panel to panel was superb. I've read a lot of graphic novels over the years, and there are lots of mediocre ones out there. When I come across a great one, it really sticks out.
So instead of getting rid of it, I looked up more about it, and about the author. It was the second of seven books in the Three Thieves series, written and drawn by Scott Chantler. I'd never heard of it before, but as luck would have it, the seventh book was just published this month! I collected the rest of the series and read them all in order, start to finish:
They are all excellent. The series is an "all-ages fantasy adventure" and has won several awards. I was most impressed with how well written it was. He put a lot of work into it!
I discovered his blog recently, and subscribed to it. What's interesting is that he's written about how he markets all of his work more like a book than a comic or graphic novel. As he puts it, he uses "content rather than form as a point of entry for people." He starts by making sure he creates a story that appeals to everyone, and then he attends writer's groups and book festivals and talks about his work. He sells more at book festivals than he does at comic conventions. Because of this approach, he gets fan mail from 80-year-olds.
There are a couple of other graphic novels he's written. One is called Two Generals, and is "about World War II, honouring a deceased relative, and personal family history." It was nominated for a bunch of awards. The other is called Northwest Passage, but oddly I couldn't find much about it on his website despite it also being nominated for awards. I haven't read either of these, but plan on checking them out soon.
Not bad for what looked like a kid's book at first glance!