The Magic Bottle (A BLAB! Storybook) [Hardcover]

Camille Rose Garcia (Author), Monte Beauchamp (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2006

A gothic fairy tale from one of L.A.'s most acclaimed painters.

An original, first graphic novel from the acclaimed California painter Camille Rose Garcia (her work has been shown in Juxtapoz, Art Issues and Paper, and exhibited in galleries and museums up and down the west coast), the first of a proposed series set in the fantasyland of the Lost World of the Peppermint Islands.

In The Magic Bottle, Lulu Blackenshoe lives in a gray world dominated by factories, landfills and giant corporations. Nature has all but disappeared in her world, but no one notices because of the antidepressants they're on. Lulu (who never takes her medicine) feels an increasing sense of dread and despair, until her fate changes one cold day when she finds a magic bottle containing a map. Drawn by pirates long ago, this map shows the way to the lost world of the Peppermint Islands, sunk to the bottom of the sea 400 years ago in the great battle between the pirates and the capitalists. Suddenly, Lulu has the chance to save the last remaining wild animals on earth, but she'll have to battle the Peppermint Man and the Great Trading Company in order to defeat the capitalist machine out to ruin the natural world. With the help of her new octopus friend, Mr. Blue, they start their journey to save the Peppermint Islands from annihilation.

This is the latest Blab! storybook, a series of graphic novels showcasing artists from Monte Beauchamp's annual BLAB! anthology, presented in a faux-children's book format, though aimed squarely at adults and young adults. Full-color throughout

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Garcia's tear-drop figures, streaky, stained-looking backdrops, and watery, weathered palette constitute one strong, regular attraction of the approximately annual avant comics showcase BLAB! Her stuff looks just as good at greater length; indeed, maybe better, since until the final few leaves, every picture appears at full-page size unencumbered by the text, which appears on facing pages, making it that much easier to sink into Garcia's deeply odd, imaginary milieu. The story, about sad young Lulu Blackenshoe's quest to find some magical islands before the capitalistic Peppermint Man, who will destroy them, does, has an improvisatory flavor to it and is, as the subtitle promises, not resolved at the end of this book. Uh, goody. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

A critique of America's mass consumer culture, Garcia's work expresses the artist's political message using metaphorical gothic cartoons. -- Paper

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Fantagraphics Books (September 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560976268
• ISBN-13: 978-1560976264
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 10.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #722,115 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a treasury for the tiny pirate, January 2, 2007

By 

Amy Jo Wimmer - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Magic Bottle (A BLAB! Storybook) (Hardcover)

What a pleasure it was reading this book to all three of my children. They hung on every word of this conscientious tale while imagination filled their eyes and heart. A grand addition to any book collection.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extra points for being endearingly unique, August 7, 2008

By 

E. Anomie - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Magic Bottle (A BLAB! Storybook) (Hardcover)

This book is a dark and mysterious children's book aimed towards adults. It is as whimsical as it is morbid, balancing a carefully crafted line between depressing and charming without ever faltering too far in either direction.

The art is strange and unfamiliar, but I say that as a high compliment- this is unlike any other art style I have encountered. There are seemingly endless layers of subtle little touches and textures added to the backgrounds. The characters are adorable and just a tad frightening, keeping with the duality of the book.

Overall, it is a very unique, endearing book that I cannot help but to recommend and try to share with other people.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars My four-year-old loved the illustrations, August 16, 2008

By 

Erin A. Harper (Pittsburgh, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Magic Bottle (A BLAB! Storybook) (Hardcover)

The book has beautiful illustrations, which my son and I both loved. He also liked the story, although parts were definitely lost on him and the deeper meaning would only be understood by older kids or adults--as I think was probably intended. He spent forever looking at the pictures of the bad guy, the poisons, and the machines. It really captured his imagination and I'll look for more works by this illustrator.

The story dropped off at the end, which is my only complaint. It's not a literary device I'm fond of. Perhaps it's going to be a series and the story continues in the next book, although there wasn't any mention of whether that was the case.