FANFARE presents PONENT MON
JOURNAL OF MY FATHER HC
(W) Jiro Taniguchi (A) Jiro Taniguchi (CA) Jiro Taniguchi
Yoichi Yamashita, spurred by a call informing him of his father's death, thinks of childhood. He returns to his hometown after a lengthy absence during which time he has not seen his father. As the relatives gather for the funeral and the stories start to flow, Yoichi's childhood starts to resurface. The Spring afternoons playing on the floor of his father's barber shop, the fire that ravaged the city and his family home, his parents' divorce and a new "mother." Through confidences and memories shared with those who knew him best, Yoichi rediscovers the man he had long considered an absent and rather cold father.
LUNATIC GN WORDLESS STORY
(W) Dan Mazur (A) Dan Mazur (CA) Dan Mazur
Lunatic is an unusual and striking graphic novel in the tradition of wordless books by the likes of Frans Masereel, Lynd Ward and William Gropper. The word "lunatic" derives from Latin, meaning "of the moon" or "moonstruck," and in this sense it describes the protagonist of this story: from infancy she develops a magical, almost intimate relationship with the moon itself, a celestial being who acts as her friend, lover, mentor. Our heroine is a dreamer, an outsider, never feeling like she quite belongs to this world. We follow her through the stages of life, infancy, childhood, youth and adulthood, at each point guided by the moon toward a fateful journey and an unexpected destiny. Part fable, part classic adventure in the tradition of Jules Verne, H. G. Wells and Méliès, the tale is told in nearly 200 full-page, wordless images in a variety of media from pencil, pen and ink, ink wash and paint that lovingly evoke the artistic styles of its period setting, and classic illustrators from Charles Dana Gibson and Toulouse Lautrec to Edward Gorey.