{"product_id":"the-graphic-canon-vol-1books","title":"The Graphic Canon, Vol. 1","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTHE GRAPHIC CANON\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e (Seven Stories Press) is a gorgeous, one-of-a-kind trilogy that brings classic literatures of the world together with legendary graphic artists and illustrators. There are more than 130 illustrators represented and 190 literary works over three volumes—many newly commissioned, some hard to find—reinterpreted here for readers and collectors of all ages.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eVolume 1 takes us on a visual tour from the earliest literature through the end of the 1700s. Along the way, we're treated to eye-popping renditions of the human race's greatest epics: \u003ci\u003eGilgamesh\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Iliad\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Odyssey\u003c\/i\u003e (in watercolors by Gareth Hinds), The \u003ci\u003eAeneid\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Arabian Nights\u003c\/i\u003e, plus later epics \u003ci\u003eThe Divine Comedy\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Canterbury Tales\u003c\/i\u003e (both by legendary illustrator and graphic designer Seymour Chwast), \u003ci\u003eParadise Lost\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eLe Morte D'Arthur\u003c\/i\u003e. Two of ancient Greece's greatest plays are adapted—the tragedy \u003ci\u003eMedea\u003c\/i\u003e by Euripides and Tania Schrag’s uninhibited rendering of the very bawdy comedy \u003ci\u003eLysistrata\u003c\/i\u003e by Aristophanes (the text of which is still censored in many textbooks). Also included is Robert Crumb’s rarely-seen adaptation of James Boswell’s \u003ci\u003eLondon Journal\u003c\/i\u003e, filled with philosophical debate and lowbrow debauchery.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReligious literature is well-covered and well-illustrated, with the Books of Daniel and Esther from the Old Testament, Rick Geary’s awe-inspiring new rendition of the Book of Revelation from the New Testament, the \u003ci\u003eTao te Ching\u003c\/i\u003e, Rumi’s Sufi poetry, Hinduism’s \u003ci\u003eMahabharata\u003c\/i\u003e, and the Mayan holy book \u003ci\u003ePopol Vuh\u003c\/i\u003e, illustrated by Roberta Gregory. The Eastern canon gets its due, with \u003ci\u003eThe Tale of Genji \u003c\/i\u003e(the world’s first novel, done in full-page illustrations reminiscent of Aubrey Beardsley), three poems from China’s golden age of literature lovingly drawn by pioneering underground comics artist Sharon Rudahl, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, a Japanese Noh play, and other works from Asia.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTwo of Shakespeare’s greatest plays (\u003ci\u003eKing Lear\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eA Midsummer Night’s Dream\u003c\/i\u003e) and two of his sonnets are here, as are Plato’s \u003ci\u003eSymposium\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eGulliver’s Travels\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eCandide\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eA Vindication of the Rights of Woman\u003c\/i\u003e, Renaissance poetry of love and desire, and \u003ci\u003eDon Quixote\u003c\/i\u003e visualized by the legendary Will Eisner.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSome unexpected twists in this volume include a Native American folktale, an Incan play, Sappho’s poetic fragments, bawdy essays by Benjamin Franklin, the love letters of Abelard and Heloise, and the decadent French classic \u003ci\u003eDangerous Liaisons\u003c\/i\u003e, as illustrated by Molly\u003cbr\u003eCrabapple.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Edited by Russ Kick, \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Graphic Canon\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e is an extraordinary collection that will continue with \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eVolume 2: \"\u003c\/i\u003eKubla Khan\"\u003ci\u003e to the \u003c\/i\u003eBronte Sisters\u003ci\u003e to The Picture of Dorian Gray\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e in Summer 2012, and \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eVolume 3: From Heart of Darkness to Hemingway to Infinite Jest\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e in Fall 2012. A boxed set of all three volumes will also be published in Fall 2012.","brand":"Kick, Russ","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback Trade paperback (US)","offer_id":43737505464544,"sku":"","price":23.37,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0330\/3125\/8248\/products\/BNCImageAPI_add5d171-74c4-4555-be52-0a323fd1af75.jpg?v=1670952265","url":"https:\/\/agricola-street-books.myshopify.com\/products\/the-graphic-canon-vol-1books","provider":"Agricola Street Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}