Readings.com.au: Australian Graphic Novels

Rooftops

Debut novel from local Melbourne artist Mandy Ord.

The Great Gatsby

No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man can store up in his ghostly heart.'

Nicki Greenberg's adaptation of The Great Gatsby is breathtaking - a wonderful homage to F. Scott Fitzgerald's jazz-age classic that brings to life the glitter, the melancholy and the grand and crumpled dreams of Fitzgerald's unforgettable characters. In the exquisitely realised setting of 1920s New York, a throng of fantastical creatures play out the drama, the wry humour and the tragedy of the novel.

'Bizarre, absorbing and very funny ... a bold idea that works to great effect.' Shaun Tan

'The novel is a wonder ... it has vitality to an extraordinary degree and glamour, and a great deal of underlying thought of unusual quality... it is astonishing. - Max Perkins, editor, in a letter to F. Scott Fitzgerald on reading the original draft of The Great Gatsby, 1924

For copyright reasons this book is not for sale in the USA or UK.

The Sacrifice

As the world spins out of control into World War II, Robert and his family wrestle with the challenges it presents. Robert offers his apartment to German-Jewish refugees, Artie intends to join up as soon as the fighting breaks out, their mother despairs that another war will lead to more death in her family, and Robert's communist sweetheart Elsa answers the call of capitalism. When Robert befriends Mata, the precocious young refugee with a yen for men in uniform, it is only the beginning of his journey; a soul-searching journey with an uncertain ending.

The Sacrifice draws compelling parallels between Australia then and now, and explores questions of courage, masculinity, tolerance and national identity that will resonate long after the book is read.

Book 1 in The Robert Wells Trilogy

Tango 7: Love And Sedition

Tango anthology number seven features 40 contributors telling 35 stories using the heaven-sent power of comics.

The Arrival

The Arrival is a 128 page book of illustrations without words, a silent graphic novel. Through a series of connecting images, it tells the story of a migrant leaving his home, crossing an ocean to a strange new city and eventually learning how to live there. The migrant is unable to understand such things as the language, transportation, food and housing of this foreign place and therefore neither should the reader, hence the absence of words.The artwork embraces the texture of old sepia photographs that typically documented social life during the early nineteenth century. The entire work of art simultaneously appears as a strange photo album.

Shaun Tan is an award winning author and illustrator, well-known for The Lost Thing which was a CBCA Honour Book in 2002 and The Red Tree, which was also a CBCA Honour Book in 2002. This illustrative masterpiece will appeal directly to children and adults of all ages, cultures and backgrounds.

Ages: 9+

Tales From Outer Suburbia

CBCA Older Readers Book of the Year 2009

Do you remember the water buffalo at the end of our street?

Or the deep-sea diver we found near the underpass?

Do you know why dogs bark in the middle of the night?

Shaun Tan, creator of The Arrival, The Lost Thing and The Red Tree, reveals the quiet mysteries of everyday life: homemade pets, dangerous weddings, stranded sea mammals, tiny exchange students and secret rooms filled with darkness and delight.