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009) Where Hats Go by Kurt Wolfgang, finished February 20
According to the author bio, this is the "first of many books" from the pen of Wolfgang. As is was published in 2001 one that should be true and I can check. So I will. Soon as I write about this one. Which was terrific. Visually, this comic's a cross between Peter Bagge and Tom Neely's rubber-hose stuff. But it's not nearly as cynical or ugly as most of the Bagge stuff I've read and it's more grounded and human than Neely's. So...maybe I like it more? Certainly, he's competitive with these guys and I definitely like him better than Bagge whom I often find tiresome.
Anyway. It's a small little first-book and it's utterly wonderful. It's a kid who lost his hat and he embarks on a quest to get it back. It hits plenty of the required elements to make Joseph Campbell happy. But you don't need to be a scholar to enjoy his growth. But his growth was particularly enjoyable because I didn't see it coming. I suppose the cynicism of indie comics of the ’90s and ’00s led me to assume everything would suck. But this is a human story and even with all the darkness in the corners of the images, the thrust of the humans story is goodness and betterment. So, Wolfgang, thank you—I enjoyed that.
(click image to see more [and more representative] images on ebay)
Now...where are you today?
Hmm. Okay. Goodreads has one more book from 2013. Okay. There's supposed to be a version of Pinocchio out by now. Amazon hasn't heard of it. Okay. Well, good news is I couldn't find an obituary. But I refuse to believe such a talent simply disappeared. Can't find him on LinkedIn. Lots more Kurt Wolfgangs on Facebook, but I don't think any of them are it either. Bummer.
I'm not totally susprised. Lots of people—even the very best—slip away from the arts. It's hard to do something so time consuming for so little reward. I hope he's still out there, still making stuff. But the fact that I didn't recognize his name (even though he was in the first-ever Best American Comics) suggests someone who disappeared, for one reason or another. Whether it was discouragement or a horrible car crash, I can't say. But I'll reread his BAC entry and wish him well. Let me know when Pinokio comes out.
(Best case scenario, he's a mad genius working on page 983 said book right now.)
(Exactly my home for Adam Hines, incidentally, whose first book I wonder if I should steal from the library.)
saturday and friday
010) Kafka's Manuscript, finished February 27
At first this seemed like a bad joke played on the bookbuying public. Simple to the point of ripoff.
But.
Then.
The story of the friend who saved Kafka's manuscripts and saw them through to publication was—suddenly moving.
How in the world did that happen?
the intro one day, the book another
012) Lucas Wars by Laurent Hopman and Renaud Roshe, finished February 28
Absolutely loved this. I'm no expert, but I was surprised how much new information I picked up. And the writing and art is so generous—Lucas in particular becomes beloved. Weirdo kid perseveres against all odds. It's real hero stuff. And win he wins, so emotional. Someone should adapt this book into a movie! Sort of a Nouvelle Vague sort of thing!
You can also tell it was originally in French. Who else in the 2020s would have so little commentary over the Ford/Hamill affair?
But I think what I love most is Roche's art. He captures famous faces so well and with a clear-reading simplicity that allows for a lot of information to be presented cleanly. It's great work. It's his first comic but I'd keep an eye on this veteran of storyboarding and advertising, see what he does next.
two days
013–015) A Midsummer's Night Dream by William Shakespeare, finished March 9
Never taught this before. Haven't read it well over twenty years. And I...really liked it. I know it's popular (part of the reason I've never taught it before—it's the play students are most likely to have encountered in junior high and I figure either it's a beautiful memory or a horror they don't wish to revisit) but I get why. It's mad in all the best ways. An absolute blast to read in class. And so many solid movies to choose from. (Come back for March movies to see the one's the students voted for.) In other words, all the elements of time well spent in class. Tragedies are still better in terms of volume of discussion topics, but a quick fun read it surely just as good a way to get people into Shakespeare? Surely.
Anyway, a pleasure to read.
four school days
The books are adding up very slowly this year. That's less because of the no-library-books rule and more because I've committed myself to reading Robert Alter's The Five Books of Moses (the fascinating footnotes have many more words than the text itself) and keeping up with the book club I'm in (currently reading Hyperion with Moby Dick yet to come). And when you consider that I imagined this year might include The Count of Monte Cristo or Adam Bede, I'm unlikely to speed up the odometer anytime soon.
In other words, less books, but possibly more words. What's the right way to count?
The first five books of 2026
001) Red Harvest by Dachielle Hammett, finished January 3
002) Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, finished January 14
003) Snoopy's Guide to the Writing Life edited by Barnaby Conrad and Monte Schulz, finished January 16
004) You Are Too Much, Charlie Brown by Charles M. Schulz, finished January 19
005) Ice by Anna Kavan, finished January 24
Emotion-of-your-choice Valentine's Day!
006) Midville High: Comic Caper Collection by Matt Blair, finished February 5
007) Guarding the Moon: A Mother's First Year by Francesca Lia Block, finished February 10
008) The Sellout by Paul Beatty, finished February 13
PRIOR YEARS OF BOOKS
2007 = 2008 = 2009 = 2010 = 2011 = 2012 = 2013 = 2014 = 2015
2016 = 2017 = 2018 = 2019 = 2020 = 2021 = 2022 = 2023 = 2024 = 2025
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