Comic Nerds & Art Critics: Gift Guide

An art dealer has an mid-life crisis; a famous artist goes psychotic; a photographic diary is uncovered; and yet another iconic painter is outed. Meanwhile, Batwoman declares her Lesbianism, a polar bear makes it to Hollywood, and two Queer comic tales are re-told. Thus outlines the artistic merit of these 9 books.

An Obscene Diary: The Visual World of Sam Steward
AN OBSCENE DIARY:
The Visual World of Sam Steward
by Justin Spring, Illustrations by Sam Steward
Antinous Press

The ideal addendum to one of the most talked about biographies of the year.

Batwoman Elegy Deluxe
BATWOMAN: ELEGY
by Greg Rucka
Illustrated by J.H. Williams and J.G. Jones
DC Comics

Batwoman is Jewish and a lesbian! Gasp!

T Cooper
THE BEAUFORT DIARIES
by T Cooper
Illustrated by Alex Petrowsky
Melville House

“A fun, quick read, beautifully created, and a strange delight to explore.”

—Riley Macleod

By Nightfall by Michael Cunningham
BY NIGHTFALL
by Michael Cunningham
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Interview

“A novel about the challenges of finding—and holding on to—beauty, and about the importance of resisting death; a force that beautiful people seem drawn to and beautiful things resist.”

—June Thomas

  • Main character is an art dealer

'Grant Wood: A Life' by R. Tripp Evans
GRANT WOOD:
A Life
by R. Tripp Evans
Knopf
Photo

“The life of Grant Wood has often been eclipsed by his paintings, leaving him a constant enigma in the history American art.” —James Polchin

HIDE/SEEK:
Difference and Desire in American Portraiture
by Jonathan D. Katz
Smithsonian Books

Stuck Rubber Baby
STUCK RUBBER BABY
by Howard Cruse
Vertigo

“Cruse’s tale is a brilliant meld of two American coming-of-age stories: civil and gay rights.”

—Cathy Camper

The Art of Jaime Hernandez
THE ART OF JAIME HERNANDEZ:
The Secrets of Life and Death
By Todd Hignite
Abrams ComicArts

“The book shines a bright light on Hernandez’s comics and graphic short stories. The printing is excellent. The paper quality is sturdy with a matte finishe, just like comics.”

—Aaron Krach

The Petting Zoo by Jim Carroll - Author
THE PETTING ZOO
by Jim Carroll
Viking Adult