All book reviews are too long. So when I started reviewing for the San Francisco Chronicle's book section, I decided that three cartoon panels would be my limit.
I began with Atonement, by Ian McEwan, (1. I read something I shouldn't have. 2. World War II. 3. Now I'm old and I make things up.), then moved on to Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, Eat, Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, and The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon. I found my cartoon sea legs when I began to review the classics: Moby-Dick was soon followed by Madame Bovary, Jane Eyre, and The Scarlet Letter. I've been drawing these comics sporadically ever since.
Some fun facts about my reviews:
Total # of books reviewed thus far: 75
Percentage of books involving death as a major plot point: 60%
# of cartoons featuring the death of a female main character: 11
# of cartoons featuring a dead body: 10
# of cartoons featuring deaths-in-progress: 7
# of cartoons featuring the undead: 6
# of cartoons featuring non-human death: 5
# of cartoons featuring death by poison: 2
# of decapitations: 2
## of cartoons where the main character would be better off dead: 1
Here are some others. The rest can be found on my Tumblr:
