Adventurous new titles from Nobrow Press
A stack of wonderful new titles by Nobrow Press explore the spirit of adventure and colourful visual narratives.
Here is a round-up of some of the latest Nobrow releases ahead of the festive season, designed to appeal to young adults, story tellers and comic fans alike:
Curveball – Jeremy Sorese
At over 400 pages long, Curveball is Nobrow’s longest graphic novel to date. Juxtaposing a broad, universal story of the mechanical breakdown of the world against a compellingly quiet and human tale, Jeremy Sorese manages to create a book which feels both intimate and epic at the same time. Visualising this contrast, the book’s aesthetic is similarly bold.
Depicted entirely in the black and white with an added neon orange spot colour, the visual style of the story is a mix of clean, playful characters and rustic textures.
These burst of neon orange also add an electrifying technological feel and help transport you to the distant future where the book is set.
Curveball is adventurous not only with how much plot it packs in to its incredibly long form but with the subject matter it tackles. For a graphic novel to both look at society’s over-reliance on technology and deeply explore human emotion, all within a futuristic setting, is no small feat. Jeremy does so elegantly, creating a graphic novel more than worthy of its size and the hype which surrounds it.
750 years in Paris – Vincent Mahe
Bold in it’s simplicity, 750 years in Paris document’s the life of a single building in France’s capital.
From processions during the Crusades in 1270 right up to “Je Suis Charlie” emblazoned protests earlier this year defending freedom of speech, Vincent Mahe presents a full, historically accurate history of France. Standing in one spot, the book allows you to witness history passing by your eyes and explore how is changed over long and short times spans.
Particularly poignant given recent events, the books best quality is the way in which it highlights Paris as a city which is always evolving and transforming.
Covering world wars, French revolutions and terror attacks, 750 years in Paris shows what a unbreakable city Paris truly is.
Toby and the Ice Giants – Joe Lillington
One of the fantastic new titles from Nobrow’s Children’s imprint Flying Eye Books, Toby and the Ice Giants is a fact-filled adventure which effortlessly intertwines an adventurous plot with educational material.
The story follows Toby the curious Bison as he ventures away from his herd to make new friends, asking plenty of informative questions along the way.
Despite being set 10,000 years ago, feels current thanks to Joe Lillington’s fresh illustration style. Packed with wild and loose rustic marks, there is a real sense of motion and scale within Joe’s artworks; even without the educational text, the book gives the impression of how large the creatures at this time were with oceans of mark-filled fur and organically scribbled feathers filling each page.
Pablo & Jane and The Hot Air Contraption – Jose Domingo
Our final pick in this Nobrow round-up is another transformative tale, this time turning from a tale of spooky discovery into a hide and seek activity book before returning to the adventure to finish the story off with a bang.
Sparked by a need for adventure and a curiosity about a strange green glow coming from an old house, the book is filled with eccentric details with the cast including characters such as Dr. Jules, a 19th century scientist trapped inside the body of a rat.
Jose Domingo’s clean and colourful illustration style lends itself perfectly to both the detailed depiction of the story and the intricate seek and find maps, managing to cram the page with enough fun to keep kids entertained without becoming confused or overly cluttered. And a padded cover lends an extra bit of tactile fun to the title.
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