There are a lot of first-rate comic-art releases just now (I recommend David Small's Stitches: A Memoir and R. Crumb's imminent, extraordinary, illustrated Book of Genesis).
But let me call your attention to Masterpiece Comics (Drawn & Quarterly), a superb concept masterfully executed by artist-writer R. Sikoryak. He's mashed together classic literature with classic comic-book art (most of the latter, for those who follows comics, with visual impersonation/homages of artists of the so-called "Silver Age").
Sikoryak retells Crime and Punishment as a Batman tale as drawn in the manner of Dick Sprang. He summarizes The Scarlet Letter as a Little Lulu comic. Little Nemo In Slumberland becomes the artistic pallette for The Picture of Dorian Gray.
This is not a stunt; Masterpiece Comics matches literature and comic book with careful thought for appropriate comparison, and the dialogue summarizes quite well the texts chosen. Plus, of course, it's a helluva lot of fun.
--Ken Tucker
