Book Review: Chinese Animation. Volume 1: Religion, Philosophy and Aesthetics

 

 reviewed by John A. Lent, editor and publisher, International Journal of Comic Art

 

Thomas Paul Thesen. Chinese Animation. Volume 1:  Religion, Philosophy and Aesthetics. Ahrensburg:  Thesensches Offizin, tredition GmbH, 2025. 822 pp. ISBN:  978-3-00-080811-1. https://www.chinese-animation.com/

      Thomas Paul Thesen’s Chinese Animation. Volume 1:  Religion, Philosophy and Aesthetics is worthy of the accolade, plentifulness--with 822 pages; 41 pages of references to works in Chinese and English; an index of about 820 characters tied to religion, film, animation, philosophy, and other areas; 1,301 information footnotes, and access to 143 landscape paintings, Chinese ink-wash, and other types of animation films, available through a digital version of figures. An added technical bonus is that the book is designed as reader-friendly with a larger type font, double-spacing, sturdy paper, and names of works in both English and Mandarin, and Chinese individuals’ names in the Latin alphabet, Chinese characters, and Pin’yin spelling.

Thesen is very up front when discussing how he went about putting the book together, stating that his not knowing Mandarin “can be rather sensitive as the texts permit various interpretations, which, of course, will steer away from the original meaning of the often ancient texts”; that his efforts to keep the philosophical and religious concepts” understandable, “rendered many of them superficial and often lacking depth,” and that his knowingly making broad statements “not necessarily accurate in all their details” was again meant to be understood by the layman, avoiding the complexities of some concepts in their original wording.

What the reader must be aware of, besides Thesen’s scholarly integrity, is that he has succeeded in transforming much theoretical, philosophical, and technical wording into highly-readable text, and has utilized the services of six Chinese translators to ensure accurate language, all of whom he lists on the imprint page--Ho Dan’yuan, Wang Lexie, Lee Hui En, Chan Yen Ly, Chan Ying Xuan, and Wu Zhi Yun.

In this masterfully-crafted volume, Thesen meticulously explains China’s major teachings (Confucianism, Daoism, Chinese Buddhism, and folk religion), as well as “The Six Principles of Painting” (spirit-harmony-life-motion, bone manner by use of the brush, conformity with objects in portraying forms, follow characteristics in applying color, plan-design the place-position, and transmit-propagate models by sketching), laid down by Qi and Liang dynasties painter Xie He (active, ca. 500-535), and the additional aesthetic principles (naturalness and regularity, openness and suggestiveness, emptiness and substance, blandness, perspective and depth, and realism). In each instance, the author enlightens the reader with information about the evolution of these teachings and principles, as well as paintings and animated films related to them.

All of this background leads up to the main thrust of Chinese Animation…, the unique traditional Chinese ink-wash painting, and its spinoff to animation. Thesen spends considerable wordage on landscape painting as the cradle of ink-wash art, beginning with Six Dynasties (220-589) artist and musician Zong Bing’s initial description of landscape painting, through the Tang (618-907), Song (960-1279), Ming (1368-1644), and Qing (1644-1911/12) dynasties, going into detail about various painters’ lives and their works and some animated films that appeared later.

China’s major contribution to world animation, ink-wash, constitutes the fourth, and last part of the book, analyzing the country’s ten examples--“Where Is Mama?” (1960), “Little Swallow” (1960), “The Cowherd’s Flute” (1963), “The Deer’s Bell” (1982), “Feelings of Mountains and Waters” (1988), “The Foolish Scholar Shopping For Shoes” (1979), “Squirrel Barber” (1983), “Jia Er Sells Apricots” (1984), “36 Chinese Characters” (1984), and “Lanhua’hua” (1989). Normally, “Where Is Mama?” “The Cowherd’s Flute,” “The Deer’s Bell,” and “Feelings of Mountains and Waters” are designated as the only ink-wash productions; Thesen’s inclusion of six shorter works adds to future research possibilities.

To satisfy this reviewer’s futile attempt to find a shortcoming of Thesen’s work, perhaps, if he had interviewed ink-wash animators during his decades of research, their views would have added more authority to his findings. However, to overload him with this task, would be like having a railway maintenance worker of old, who had just put in a full day tamping ties and laying rails, then proceed to the coal mine to start his ten-hour shift. A bit exaggerated, but you get the point. Thesen does include quoted material of animators, such as Duan Xiaoxuan and Te Wei, gathered by other scholars.

Chinese Animation. Volume 1:  Religion, Philosophy and Aesthetics is a one-of-a-kind trough of facts, theories and concepts, history, and viewpoints on Chinese landscape painting, ink-wash and other animation forms, and the teachings and principles endemic to China and its art, all tied together, free of academese, presented in a flowing style, abounding in fascinating side stories, rigorously researched, and scrupulously analyzed. It is a “must” for university libraries and researchers and students serious about animation as a field of study, and a “highly-recommended” for those fascinated by Chinese culture.

Graphic Novel Reviews: Enchanted Lion Books

 

Reviewed by Liz Brown, Outreach and Instruction Librarian, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.

Enchanted Lion Books features a catalogue primarily from the Eurocomics scene, although with diversions to other countries and continents. They frequently feature illustrations with strong painterly influences, including works by well-known artists, such as Matthew Forsythe, Daniel Salmieri, and Yuki Ainoya. The subject matter is poetic, contemplative, and emotionally aware. Their titles, particularly from their picture book line, have won multiple awards and recognitions. Many of their titles are clearly chosen for broad appeal across age ranges, and their Unruly Imprint is for “picture books intended specifically for adults and teenagers.” Readers who already read graphic works are likely to be a receptive audience to this line, and additional appeal may come from those who enjoy and collect visually-based books, such as artistic monographs. The following reviews include books marketed towards their middle grade/young adult readers.

            Blexbolex. Translator:  Karin Snelson. 2023. The Magicians. Brooklyn, NY:  Enchanted Lion Books.

         The Magicians is a story of three self-serving magicians who escape their confines only to be pursued by a stubborn Huntress and the single-minded Clinker, who are intent on keeping their mischief under control. The plot follows its own internal logic, rather than a strict narrative structure, playing with the concept of the characters’ internally-generated methods of creation. The magicians, as with artists, can create their own realities, but also get stuck inside that which they create. Over the course of the story, clear lines of who is the protagonist and who is an antagonist erode as the characters’ identities are interrogated and manipulated by outside forces.

Each page of the book is a full panel, with a few lines of spare dialogue or explanatory text captioning the framework of the story. Blexbolex takes advantage of the generous gutters to entrust his audience to fill in details and nuance. The artwork features Blexbolex’s characteristic style, but the illustrations are more visually complex than his prior work for picture books, including densely-layered stencils that create a broader color palette featuring half-tones and shadows. Visual references to vintage illustrations call to mind the works of Henry Darger, with additional cross-cultural references to Asian graphic arts.

 

Fig. 1. The Huntress succeeds after a battle. Page 106.

         While the fairy tale framework of the story might appeal to young readers, the visual complexity, absurd bends in the plot, irreverent humor, and focus on the development of character identity suggest that older readers--teens and adults--are a more likely audience for the work.

         Isol. Translator:  Lawrence Schimel. 2024. Loose Threads. Brooklyn, NY:  Enchanted Lion Books.

Loose Threads is one of six picture books created for the exhibit, “Palestinian Art History as Told by Everyday Objects,” organized by the Palestinian Museum in Birzeit, Palestine. It imagines a story on the surface of the hand-embroidered shawl that illustrator, Isol, received when visiting the Tamer Institute for Community Education. The work plays with the concept of the front side of the embroidery, where the designs are legible iconography of traditional Palestinian cross-stitching, and the back side of the embroidery, where you see the abstract shapes formed by the work between the stitches. Isol’s story is a digital collage about the characters living on the visible side of the embroidery. They keep losing objects that slip through the small tears in the fabric, into “the Other Side.” Plucky heroine, Leilah, sets out to mend the tears, but her patches don’t have the intended effect.

 

Fig. 2. Leilah dreams about the inhabitants of the Other Side.

         The images in this work are largely full-page spreads with no more than five sentences of text, broken into five short chapters. It would be a good transitional book for students who progress from picture books into longer material and who are working on reading independently.

As the Gazan genocide continues to unfold, this book has particular interest and poignancy in sharing Palestinian culture through material objects, but it is worth noting that Isol is a Spanish-speaking, Argentinian artist invited to work on the project, not a Palestinian herself. The book’s theme of mending is both a literal device in the story, but also alludes to generational healing and the passing down of heritage.

        Oyvind Torseter. Translator:  Kari Dickson. 2016. The Heartless Troll. Brooklyn, NY:  Enchanted Lion Books.

         A contemporary retelling of the Norwegian fairytale, “The Troll with No Heart in His Body,” The Heartless Troll begins with the third son setting out to rescue his brothers and make his fortune. Torseter has an established cast of characters whom he grafts into different roles throughout his books. Central is the Moomin-like, donkey-headed hero, Prince Fred--simple, trusting, and malleable--who is frequently the protagonist in Torseter’s works. But more interesting--both in writing and visual design--are the newer characters introduced for the story. Prince Fred’s anthropomorphic, reluctant nag provides an amusing counterpoint to Fred’s tepid heroism. Torseter gives voice to what is traditionally an unspeaking role in the story, using the steed’s cowardice as a source for his witticisms. The monstrous Troll visually calls out art history references, including Leonard Baskin’s prints and Picasso’s “Guernica.”

 

Fig. 3. The first night of Prince Fred’s quest.

The illustrations revel in their physicality, with inked lines and textured backgrounds imitating the grain of drypoint etchings, and intentionally-visible collaging of materials in large spreads. The drawings feature spare lines on large swathes of black, with limited color employed for emphasis. The work is in the same milieu as Anne Simon’s comics, especially her adaptation of Greek myth in The Song of Aglaia, but Torseter sticks to sparser dialogue, a simpler plot, and less allegorical intentions. His retelling is amusing and visually interesting, but lacks the substance to hold up to deeper probing.

             Oyvind Torseter. Translator:  Kari Dickson. 2023. Mulysses. Brooklyn, NY:  Enchanted Lion Books.

         Mulysses is a composite story, drawing tropes from multiple sea-faring sources, but not a true adaptation of any particular one. The story contains pursuit of a menacing whale, as in Moby Dick, escaping the island of a one-eyed monster, as in Ulysses, plumbing the ocean depths for mysteries, as in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, but with an irreverent and absurd tone that is uniquely Torseter’s own. The comic’s primary cast is, once again, made up of Torseter’s recurring characters--the eponymous, mule-headed protagonist; his elephant-headed, sea-captain foil; and generic, female, “harbor tavern gal” love interest; along with cameos of other recognizable characters in the background. Mulysses is out of work and about to be evicted. With a one-week deadline looming over him, before he loses all his worldly possessions, he signs on to a questionable voyage captained by an eccentric millionaire in hopes that the reward will be enough to recover his belongings from storage. Of course, with both an inept captain and crew, only mayhem can ensue.

 

Fig. 4. An average day for Mulysses at sea.

Along with Torseter’s established grainy line work, collaged spreads, and limited color palette, he has started incorporating printmaking techniques into his work. He uses stamp printing for texture in his panels--clothing and hairstyles for background characters, wheels on vehicles, furniture, waves in the sea--and also layers colors in halftones, either in imitation of or truly printing with a risograph. The use of these printing methods is tentative and experimental, but the results seem worth pursuing further, as they add tactility to the illustrations, which Torseter is clearly in pursuit of when making his art. The book’s design is in a horizontal format, which intentionally calls to mind photograph albums, as one might have once used to store vacation snapshots; however, it should still fit on most standard bookshelves. While the content is appropriate for all ages, Mulysses’ motivating worries over rent and work mark this as a comic geared for adults. It would appeal to fans of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (dir. Wes Anderson, 2004)

Graphic Novel Review: Should We Buy a Gun?

 Reviewed by Cord A. Scott, UMGC-Okinawa

Dave Cowen and Gabriel Wexler. Should We Buy a Gun? Los Angeles:  SerioComics, 2025. 330 pp. US $35.00. ISBN:  979-8-9920-5509-2. https://www.shouldwebuyagun.com/

  

Comic books have often contended with serious political issues. It is not often through direct discussion, but through allegories. When we think of the PATRIOT Act (2001), we think not of a direct comic, but the story arcs in Avengers:  Civil War. While there are historically- or politically-based comics, they can be text-laden or even biased in their political leaning. However, many political issues are not simply a matter of black and white, but of nuance and a variety of factors that influence the outcome. Add to that the charged arguments of gun control in the United States, and the topic would seem to be a bad idea. This is most certainly NOT the case with the publishing of Should We Buy a Gun? 

The premise is one that many Americans might well relate to:  the idea of people who have grown up in one part of the country with a set of standards, and the realities that sometime intrude. In the story, two newlyweds, Dave and Maggie, live in Austin, Texas, in what would be considered standard lives. He is a high school counselor, from a liberal family in New York. Maggie is from Texas and is a producer for the National Public Radio station in Austin. They are liberal-leaning and look at the ills of society through that sort of a lens. When events lead to a mugging, where two youths hold a gun on the couple (and in an ironic twist, escape on e-scooters), the elements of reality and shock set in. The couple are trying to have a child, and this threat to safety, and the breakdown of the defense narrative--“if I were threatened by a guy with a gun, I would ….,” is destroyed. Dave cries because of his lack of protecting his young bride, and Maggie sees threat everywhere. Soon after, she purchases a gun, bedecked in American flag colors, and Dave is shocked, as it goes against what he sees as a perpetuation of the violence narrative.

It is here that the story deviates from the expected. Cowen writes the story in such a way, that early on, it is clear that this issue is simply not as easy as many believe. For foreign readers, the idea of gun ownership is a part of American culture and governance, where the guns now outnumber people in the U.S. But, the idea of gun ownership, its origins, and the problems of the current government’s regulating the industry are all brought into the story arcs.

One area that Cowen hones in on is the concept of gun arguments directly. For people on both sides of the issue, there are statistics in their favor. However, it is not as clear-cut. While the location of Austin--a politically liberal city in a conservative state of Texas--is important to the story, several other cities could fit the bill. Gun advocates note that despite some of the most restrictive gun ownership laws in the country, Chicago is still a dangerous place, with a large overall number of murders because of gun violence. What is often not discussed is the loose checks and purchasing requirements in Indiana, where one can actually walk across the street from Chicago to Indiana, then purchase a weapon with little restriction, thereby negating the Chicago laws. This sort if disparity in enforcement occurs in several areas throughout the United States.

The story line also looks at issues of mental health (one of Dave’s students in high school has mental health issues, as well as a broken home), a mass shooting (in this case, the son of the governor and several other members of legislature), as well as media discussion of gun ownership through Maggie’s employer, National Public Radio (NPR).  The strain of gun ownership, combined with issues concerning ownership and proficiency of the weapon, leads to discussions about what members of society should possess weapons, and potential use of a firearm, when other deterrents might work with less lethal force.

The story also goes into the omission of specific parts of speeches from famous leaders, such as Martin Luther King, who advocated non-violence, but noted the need for a weapon (193). There is also a conversation between Maggie and her minister concerning what is discussed concerning the ownership and use of weapons in all forms within the Bible. The historical narrative even goes so far as to mention what Gandhi and King thought of weapons as a deterrent to violence (233), as well as the seemingly controversial aspects of shootings, from George Zimmerman to the Black Panthers, where race was also a considerable factor (193-194).

The end of the book weaves together some elements of the back stories, as well as ancillary characters. In all, the story is one that, as noted in the blurbs, does use humor to weave in serious issues. It is a book that should provoke conversations on the issue of gun ownership in America.