Acclaimed cartoonist Dylan Horrocks returns with a long-awaited new graphic novel, the first since his perennial classic, 1998’s Hicksville (new edition, VUP 2010). And it is bloody wonderful, a work of genius and well worth the wait !
The story:
Cartoonist Sam Zabel hasn’t drawn a comic in years. Stuck in a
nightmare of creative block and despair, Sam spends his days writing superhero
stories for a large American comics publisher and staring at a blank piece of
paper, unable to draw a single line. Then one day he finds a mysterious old
comic book set on Mars and is suddenly thrown headlong into a wild, fantastic
journey through centuries of comics, stories, and imaginary worlds. Accompanied
by a young webcomic creator named Alice and an enigmatic schoolgirl with rocket
boots and a bag full of comics, Sam goes in search of the Magic Pen,
encountering sex-crazed aliens, medieval monks, pirates, pixies and—of
course—cartoonists. Funny, erotic, and thoughtful, Sam Zabel and the Magic
Pen explores the pleasures, dangers, and moral consequences of
fantasy.
208 pages, full colour throughout, 190x268mm - Victoria University Press - $35.00
Enthusiasm from a top international graphic artist:
‘Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen is a tour de force. There’s something very pure about Dylan
Horrocks’ comics. That’s perhaps an odd word to describe this book which is so
much about desire. But Horrocks’ line and his imagination both seem to flow
freely and directly from some primal source. If you’ve ever wished that Hergé
had written comics for grown-ups—gorgeously drawn and playful adventures that
explore the serious anxieties of midlife—your wish has come true, and then
some.’
Alison Bechdel
About the author:
Dylan Horrocks (left - self portrait) was born in 1966 and lives in New Zealand. He is
the author of the modern classic Hicksville (1998; new edition VUP
2010), and has written for DC Comics, including Hunter: The Age of Magic
and Batgirl.
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