War Bears #1
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- $3.99
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- $3.99
Publisher Description
From the Booker Prize-winning author of The Handmaid's Tale, comes this historical fiction graphic novel tracing the Golden Age of comic books.
Oursonette, a fictional Nazi-fighting superheroine, is created at the peak of World War II by comic book creator Al Zurakowski who dreams of making it big in the early world of comics publishing.
A story that follows the early days of comics in Toronto, a brutal war that greatly strains Al personally and professionally, and how the rise of post-war American comics puts an end to his dreams.
International and New York Times best-selling novelist Margaret Atwood and acclaimed artist Ken Steacy collaborate for one of the most highly anticipated comic book and literary events!
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Despite a powerhouse creator team, this boisterously drawn tale of a WWII-era Canadian comic artist by Atwood (Handmaid's Tale) and Steacy (Astro Boy series) falls flat. After landing a job as an illustrator with Canoodle Comics, Alan Zurakowski creates Nazi-fighting animalistic superheroine Oursonette in hopes of inspiring the troops. But the disapproval of his father, the demands made by his publisher, and news about his brother fighting in Europe all take a toll on his mental health. While he turns his struggles into fuel for his pen, Alan discovers that his dedication and creativity may not be enough to keep Oursonette alive when the post-WWII homegrown comics industry faces the popularity of the American market. Steacy's cartoonish, colorful, stylistic design playfully evokes the 1940s, but it's not enough to sell the script (though Oursonette's comic-within-a-comic is good fun), where contrived writing is phoned in with throwaway one-liners and stereotyped characters. It's a disappointing turn out for the talent; readers would be better off revisiting the real golden-age source material.
