Sam Zabel & the Magic Pen - Softcover

Dylan Horrocks

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0861662369 ISBN 13: 9780861662364

Publisher: Knockabout, 2015

Synopsis

Acclaimed cartoonist Dylan Horrocks returns with a new graphic novel, the first since his perennial classic, 1998's Hicksville (Drawn & Quarterly). 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 an 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 fantastic journey through imaginary worlds, in his quest for the Magic Pen..

About this title

Review

'Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen is a coming-of-age story for the fantasies of our past and a joyful bear hug for the storytellers of our future. An effortless, magical read from front to back.' - Scott McCloud - Understanding Comics

'This book is necessary for anyone paralyzed even a bit by the creative/spiritual confusion of the digital age. Horrocks explores the role and responsibility of storytelling, juggling genres, fiddling with the mechanics of the comics form, and reclaiming the sense of magic that once reigned the medium - a playfulness contagious for the reader. Like his Hicksville, a must have in every library.' - Craig Thompson

'...Having a book like this again reminds me as to why Horrocks is one of the most important cartoonists currently working in comics: his work is honest and often painful, permeating with a sense of heart and warmth and love for the medium that isn't always so visible in the work of his contemporaries ... Sam Zabel almost seems like a blueprint as to how we can take the stereotypical escapism overdone in the comics and turn them once again into something of true, earnest value.' - Matthew Meylikhov - Multiversity Comics

'Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen shows that when the loop of creation to appreciation is complete - and better still if the creative energy spins out on its own unpredictable orbit - that the relationship between audience and artist carries its own sort of eldritch power' - --Kotaku.com

About the Author

Dylan Horrocks lives in New Zealand with his wife and two sons. He is the author of the award-winning graphic novel Hicksville and the comic book series Pickle and Atlas, and has also written for DC Comics and Vertigo, including Hunter: the Age of Magic and Batgirl.

About this edition

• Publisher: Knockabout
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0861662369
• ISBN 13: 9780861662364
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 210