Lio's Astonishing Tales: From the Haunted Crypt of Unknown Horrors [Paperback]

Mark Tatulli (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 18, 2009

A boy's imagination is unleashed in Lio's Astonishing Tales: From the Haunted Crypt of Unknown Horrors. The 2009 National Cartoonists Award for Best Newspaper Comic Strip, Lio is unique in its pantomime content and drawing style. This treasury includes creator commentary and origins of Lio.

It's slightly dark and terribly funny. Lio, the main character, a young boy with an imagination that has no limit, explores everything kid. From bumps in the night to things hiding under the bed, readers get an inside look at different shades of humor but always come out the other end unscathed and laughing.

"Lio is brilliant!" --Dallas Morning News

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mark Tatulli is an internationally syndicated cartoonist best known for his popular comic strip Heart of the City, which chronicles a fun-loving, tenacious little girl's adventures in the big city of Philadelphia. In addition to cartooning, Tatulli is an accomplished filmmaker and animator, and the recipient of three Emmy Awards. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, Donna, three children, and three nefarious cats, all of whom supply endless ideas for Lio.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing; Original edition (August 18, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0740785419
• ISBN-13: 978-0740785412
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #699,455 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mark Tatulli is an internationally syndicated cartoonist. He was awarded the National Cartoonists Society's Best Newspaper Comic Strip award in 2008 for Lio and is also known for his popular comic strip Heart of the City, both syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate. He lives in a Spielbergian development in New Jersey with his wife, Donna, three children, and three nefarious cats, all of whom supply endless ideas for Lio.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful quirky treasury, reprinting earlier collections, August 12, 2009

By 

Graham (Palo Alto, CA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Lio's Astonishing Tales: From the Haunted Crypt of Unknown Horrors (Paperback)

I love Mark Tatulli's quirky cartoon tales of Lio, the "Weird Kid"; the befriender of giant squid, spiders, zombies, bunnies and aliens; the maker of flying machines, invisibility potions and Killer Robots; the puzzle and pride of his bemused father. The cartoons are consistently funny and the perpetually optimistic, cheerfully oddball and eternally creative Lio is an inspiration to aspiring Mad Scientists everywhere.

This treasury contains the same Lio cartoons that were previously published in the collections "Happiness Is a Squishy Cephalopod" and "Silent But Deadly". It adds only a small amount of new material: a few quirky fake adverts on the back and inside covers and four pages of early experimental sketches of Lio. There are also occasional comments on the cartoons from the author: typical two or three lines per cartoon, on around 30% of the cartoons.

If you're new to Lio, this is a great place to begin!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fun Lio collection with bits of the author's thinking, August 26, 2009

By 

Martin R. Crim "that guy" (Manassas, Virginia USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Lio's Astonishing Tales: From the Haunted Crypt of Unknown Horrors (Paperback)

There's a trendlet of comic strip authors offering commentary on their own work, and this one example does a good job of commenting in an interesting and enlightening way on the creative process without overdoing it. The bits about people objecting to strips, as well as the admission that some strips didn't really work, are particularly good insights into the mind of Tatulli. New material includes the front and back covers and conceptual sketches. I read this with my 11 y.o. and 14 y.o. but some of the comments went over their heads, which is no problem. It may not be appropriate for the youngest kids, but the clever and lighthearted tone make even the most macabre strips funny, rather than scary. You have to wonder if Tatulli was influenced by Gahan Wilson, but if he was he doesn't admit it here.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lio: The cute fellow who loves the spooky life, October 20, 2009

By 

The Straw Man "J.E. Hoppock" (Aloof October on April's Birthday) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Lio's Astonishing Tales: From the Haunted Crypt of Unknown Horrors (Paperback)

(What's this?)

I have to say that this is one neat book. It is a comic book, in the same vain of Garfield or Calvin and Hobbes. I wasn't familiar with Lio before this book. Lio is a bit of an interesting character, he sort of reminds me of Ed Grimley (performed by Martin Short) but much younger.

Lio is a little kid who is very much obsessed with the macabre and elements that are rather malicious in nature. For instance, in one of the comic strips, Lio is beating the Grim Reaper/Death in the board game "Life". Another adventure shows Lio visiting Paris with his father. Now his father is totally taken by the beauty of this city. Not Lio, he runs right to Notre Dame so he can take a picture of the Hunchback.

Some of the comics are in color, where others are in black and white. Mark Tatuulli also puts some commentary underneath many of the comic strips explaining his motive behind each strip and/or the history of the comic. The cover of the book itself has this rustic, shopworn feel to it. Almost like a throwback to old pulp fiction magazines.

I think this is a great twist on comic strips; many times comics are very slapstick or base the smiles on pratfalls. The adventures of Lio are very wry and dark in nature, this leads to very abysmal type of humor. It might not be everyone's cup of tea. It also might be determined on an individual basis if these comics would be appropriate for little children. In contrast, the illustrations are rather cute and there really isn't any dialogue between any of the characters, so there is a level of simplicity to these strips.

I found this book to be a refreshing twist on the standard comic and I will be keeping my eye out for Lio in the future.