Ethel & Ernest by Raymond Briggs

Ethel & Ernest is a true story of Briggs' parents, from their first encounter to their deaths. It's a story of two ordinary people, who experience the changing of the world around them: Second World War, the arrival of television, people landing on the moon, as they brought up their only son. It's really nice for a change to read a book about ordinary lives. No abuse, violence, extreme poverty, and all the things that make the world dark and gloomy. This time, it's intimate insight into life of a simple working class couple, who have simple wants and dreams, who are happy and sad for things that are important to them (not necessary to the world of course).

Read my complete review here...

This is my first post for this blog. The other graphic novels that I've read for this challenge:

1. The Tale of One Bad Rat by Bryan Talbot (finished 02/09, rating 4/5)
2. The Sandman Vol 1: Preludes & Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman (finished 03/09, rating 3.5/5)
3. The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman (finished 03/09, rating 5/5)
4. Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall by Bill Willingham (finished 03/09, rating 4.5/5)
5. Burnout by Rebecca Donner (finished 04/09, rating 3.5/5)
6. Fables Vol 1: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham (finished 04/09, rating 4/5)
7. Clockwork Girl by Sean O’Reilly and Kevin Hanna (finished 04/09, rating 3.5/5)

I was going for Minor, but I'm now aiming for Major :)

The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman

So here is my second read for this challenge (out of six). I looked to see if anyone else had reviewed Maus here, but it looks like it may just be on people's lists so far. Please let me know if you've reviewed it here and I missed it!
The Complete Maus consists of both Maus I and II, bound together in a hardcover volume. I wanted to read them both together, to get the full story, and I am very glad I did. Maus is the story of Art Spiegelman's father, Vladek, and how he survived the holocaust. In the graphic novel, Jews are drawn as mice, Germans are cats, Poles are pigs, French are frogs, and Americans are dogs. The drawings make the material more unrealistic and yet they also draw us in more to the fact that though it seems unreal, this really happened.
Vladek survived the holocaust mainly through luck, but also by taking advantage of the situations he finds himself in. His wife, Art's mother, also survives, but ends up committing suicide more than 20 years later. The novel is not just about the holocaust, but it also documents Art's efforts to get his father's story. He does not have a very good relationship with his cantankerous father, and the novel shows how he has a difficult time being fair to his story. It gives the work more depth, and makes it that much more real to the reader. So much has already been said about this book, but I had never gotten around to reading it. I am so glad I did, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who has ever considered picking it up.