If you don't know about Kate Beaton by now, take a minute to visit to her website, Hark! A Vagrant, and read a few comics (Caution: there is some adult language!). Here are links to several of my favorites, to start with.
You'll probably be a while.
Kate Beaton first published her quirky, contemporary comics online in 2007. Since then she has quickly become the toast of the internet, been published in the New Yorker, and received a host of well-deserved accolades including the Doug Wright Award for Best Emerging Talent. Her work is now available in glorious, collectible hardcover form from Canadian publisher Drawn and Quarterly. Sharing the name of the aforementioned website, Hark! A Vagrant offers up a collection of Beaton's best comics (and a few new ones!) in crisp black and white print that beats the heck out of my laptop screen. Happily, many of the comics are accompanied by Beaton's witty, occasionally irreverent commentary.
I started reading Beaton's comics after hearing all my friends raving about Dude Watchin' With the Brontës (which now is one of the first offerings in the new book). Despite not being a big Brontë reader, the results for me were two-fold: 1.) I became an immediate fan of Beaton's webcomic and 2.) I started reading Anne Brontë. For a few hours, anyway.
Lively, hilarious, occasionally snarky, and more often than not educational to boot, Beaton deftly comic-izes everything from The Great Gatsby to Canadian history to Tesla with simple, elegant line work. With a few expressive lines she can capture a wild-eyed Nancy Drew, a not-so-romantic (by modern standards, anyway) 15th century romance, and the most amazing babies ever.
She sometimes tackles lesser known historical topics, but as my adventure with Anne indicates, familiarity is not necessary for enjoyment. Beaton's humor stands on its own, even amidst the most obscure of topics. You'll be scrambling to google new topics and running to the library for biographies. As a caution for general recommendations, the book, like her webcomic, does contain some "salty" language and concepts that might not be suitable for younger or more sensitive audiences.
Beaton's comics are available freely on her website, but there's something about curling up in a comfy chair with a blanket and a solid, well put-together hardcover collection like this one that can't be matched.
WorldCat // Goodreads // Amazon
Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton
ISBN: 978-1770460607
Drawn and Quarterly, 2011
MSRP: $19.95