The past two weeks have been insanely hot here in New York City, so I’ve spent a good deal of my time inside, where I can crank the A/C and read without looking like I’ve just run a marathon (which, trust me, I haven’t). I’m one of those perpetually hot-blooded people; it has to be seriously freezing for me to consider turning the heat on, and even then, I use it sparingly. I figure summer is my time to even out my carbon footprint.

Thus I’ve been able to catch up on a lot of GN reading lately, which has been a good thing. In recent weeks my stack of reading material has become rather daunting, with many different focuses. When I look at it, it’s arranged in one of those haphazard, no-rhyme-or-reason eclectic ways, much like the book I spent a good part of the weekend reading: Abstract Comics. I should add that when I say I “read” this book, I use the term loosely, as befits the book itself. It’s a collection of work from various comics artists (dozens of them) from the past several decades. It’s a massive project undertaken by Andrei Molotiu.

I reviewed the book, which you’ll see in the reviews listed below—but I should also add that Molotiu’s thorough and brilliant examination of comics as art blew me away and tested the limits of my feeble brain. So I decided that just reviewing him wouldn’t be enough. The review couldn’t be the last word on the book on GNR because I’m afraid I’m not smart enough to deserve the last word here! So I’m going to interview him next and give him a chance to speak for himself. But in the meantime, my review might give you some idea about the book.

The reason I bring the book up here in the first place is because the book tied into something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately (it also came up in my interview with Brian Fies, author of Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow?). Namely, my lack of enthusiasm for a lot of new technology (yes, I have a cell phone, but most of the time, I don’t have it on me, which drives a lot of my friends crazy).

This all came up because Carol and I were having a discussion recently about how vinyl LP sales have been rising the past couple of years. She has a lot of theories about that and what it says about electronic readers for books. (If you want to read more, she posted a blog about it over on Bookreporter.com which you can read here.) As someone who still has a turntable hooked up in his bedroom, and a fairly big collection of LPs to go with it, I agree. I’m not impressed by the newest reading gadgets, and I’m not eager to read books or comics on them. And while I of course have CDs and an iPod, I still love the idea of albums. I like their two sides, and I like the big covers —which I always considered art.

They were abstract art, at times. Separated from the overall theme of the album they were packaged in, those pictures took on lives and meanings of their own, in my head at least. This is how I related to Abstract Comics, a book I struggled with at first because it was asking me to approach comic art in a way I never had before—still in a sequence, but without words and without any context. Once I got into it, I celebrated the book for the nostalgic feeling it was inspiring in me. So I pulled out an album and put it on, side one, then side two, and explored the images in Abstract Art. It helped. But I’m still going to give Molotiu his say soon just in case I got it all wrong. He certainly deserves that much!

I hope you enjoy the rest of the update too. Read below to find out more about the interviews, reviews, and news we’ve added to the site. Also, we'd love your help with the reader surveys running on Teenreads.com (which closes Monday, August 31st) and Kidsreads.com (which closes Tuesday, September 15th). Please share those links with kids and teens you know, as well as librarians, teachers and booksellers.

One last thing...Those who are subscribed to the GraphicNovelReporter.com newsletter by August 31, 2009 are automatically entered in our Monthly Newsletter Contest. This month you can win My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down by David Heatley, Invincible Vol. 10 by Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley and FCO Plascencia, Dead, She Said by Steve Niles and Bernie Wrightson, The Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard by Eddie Campbell and Dan Best, and Funny Misshapen Body by Jeffrey Brown. These titles are pictured above this note.

Happy reading,

John Hogan (John@bookreporter.com)

Worlds Beyond
Brian Fies asks a very intriguing question: Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow? That’s the world we were promised so many decades ago, and the world we worked so hard to achieve. We talked with Brian to find out where that world is now. By John Hogan

Alex Eckman-Lawn: The Artist at Work
Talented artist Alex Eckman-Lawn discusses his inspirations as a comics artist and how he came to illustrate the new noir series Awakening—and as a bonus, he walks us through the creation process by showing how he created the artwork for one of the pages of the book. Step inside the artist’s mind and see the creative process through his eyes. By John Hogan

The Mouse Roars
Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm talked to GNR about how they work together on their bestselling Babymouse series, how the books came about, and what’s next for their tiny protagonist. By John Hogan

Scooby-Doo and Other Goodwill Ambassadors

Parts Unknown

Mainstream Does It

There’s a kryptonite meteor headed to earth, and Lex Luthor is planning to use it to his advantage against both Superman and Batman in the new direct-to-DVD movie Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. Get the scoop on it here.

Check out some of the latest new graphic novel trailers online! Get a preview of Nick Tapalansky and Alex Eckman-Lawn’s Awakening and the new Geronimo Stilton books from Papercutz, plus more.

Quick reminder to those of you with teens or kids in your households or who have grandchildren, library patrons, or friends. We have surveys running right now on Teenreads.com and Kidsreads.com. The Teenreads.com 2009 Reader Survey is open until August 31st, and 775 teens will have the chance to win one of the 27 titles being given away if they complete the survey. The Kidsreads.com 2009 Reader Survey is open until September 15th, and 1,000 readers will have the chance to read one of 24 titles being given away.

Ludwig II, Vol. 1 by You Higuri
This is the return of a cult classic of historic fiction from the 1990s by popular shoujo and boy's love manga creator You Higuri. About the "Mad King" of Bavaria, Ludwig II, it remains one of her strongest series to date. Reviewed by Casey Brienza

Living for Tomorrow by Taishi Zaou
High-schooler Tasuku Mizuochi has been keeping a secret. Since he was a child, Tasuku generally abused Ryouta, afraid that his true feelings for his friend would betray him otherwise. When Tasuku discovers that he may have inherited a power that could turn his luck around, he decides to use it to benefit Ryouta's life...if Ryouta agrees to let Tasuku love him. Reviewed by Courtney Kraft

Flower of Life, Vol. 1-4 by Fumi Yoshinaga
Award-winning manga artist Fumi Yoshinaga delivers the unforgettable with Flower of Life, a slice-of-life story about ordinary high-school students (and their teachers) that is anything but ordinary. Reviewed by Casey Brienza

Canon, Vol. 3 and 4 by Chika Shiomi
Canon finds the vampire who killed her friends and turned her into a vampire herself. But what used to be obvious is now confusing, and not everyone is telling her the truth. She starts to realize what she believed was true is actually a lie. Reviewed by Danica Davidson

Binky the Space Cat by Ashley Spires
Binky has all the materials he needs to blast off into space (or the backyard, as we might call it). His attempts to become a cat astronaut are a fun new addition to kids' libraries. Reviewed by John Hogan

Giraffes in My Hair by Bruce Paley and Carol Swain
Bruce Paley's rock-and-roll life in the '60s and '70s are detailed through the illustrations of his companion, Carol Swain, who documents his time with radical and all-too-common people. Reviewed by John Hogan

We get you ready for fall reading with a full docket of comics reading, including new graphic novels and manga ranging from science fiction to superhero collections to memoir.