Back and Forth: A Novel in 90 Linocuts: No. 2 (Graphic Novels) - Tapa blanda

"Back]Forth" has a very real-feeling quality to it, despite its nebulous meaningsand seeming intentional lack of conclusions; perhaps this is due to its location in recognizable places or the ease of identifying with some of its most clear-cut plot pointssuch as riding a bus, having sex, or sitting and thinking in a coffee shop. While reading''what amounts to a high-art picture book for adults can be dislocating, it is also veryrewarding; "Back+Forth" sets out to probe readers' understandings of narrative andcharacter, and does it well.'--Patty Comeau "ForeWord Reviews "

I found the narrative line of this wordless novel very easy to follow, and very evocative. The use of varied perspectives in the linocuts gives a sense of spaciousness, of an observing, outside eye. For example, in the first image we are looking down at a bedroom from above; in another, we are looking up a staircase leading out of the subway; in yet another we have the character barely appearing as she stares out the bus window and there is a real sense of movement in the print. I enjoyed this book, and as I haven't had a lot of experience with this type of story, I was relieved to find it engaging and quite complex.'

"Back+Forth" has a very real-feeling quality to it, despite its nebulous meaningsand seeming intentional lack of conclusions; perhaps this is due to its location in recognizable places or the ease of identifying with some of its most clear-cut plot pointssuch as riding a bus, having sex, or sitting and thinking in a coffee shop. While reading''what amounts to a high-art picture book for adults can be dislocating, it is also veryrewarding; "Back+Forth" sets out to probe readers' understandings of narrative andcharacter, and does it well.'

The second in a series of graphic novels edited for the Porcupine's Quill by wood engraver George A. Walker in which Walker encourages students at the Ontario College of Art & Design to embrace 19th century linocut printmaking techniques to create extended visual narratives which are then scanned, digitized, and subsequently printed offset for publication at popular prices in a format that uses 20th century offset printing technology to replicate the look and `feel' of a 19th century letterpress product.