Concrete : Think Like a Mountain

Rating:
Summary: Comic book storytelling in its top form.
Review: A thought-provoking look at life, and the value of nature's preservation, that makes you stop and think about the world around us. Think Like a Mountain asks an important question: is stepping over the line of the law worth it if the cause is good? This, among other things, is a problem that Concrete must come face to face with over the course of the story. The art complements the writing perfectly; both are exceptional throughout. Concrete has come to be a symbol of comics at their best, raising the bar with each installment. I cannot give a higher reccomendation for this wonderful book, it's star (Concrete), and its creator- the one and only Paul Chadwick.

Rating:
Summary: It's Not Easy Being Green
Review: Comic book character Ron Lithgow was hiking in the mountains one day when he was abducted by extraterrestrials who, before he escaped their clutches, forcibly removed his brain and deposited it in the incredibly strong and nigh invulnerable stone body of a 1,200 pound manlike monolith. Now transformed into the gentle giant called Concrete, he has essentially been exiled from the animal kingdom. In his ongoing series of periodic projects from Dark Horse Comics, such as "Concrete Celebrates Earth Day 1990," creator Paul Chadwick has often used this unique being to promote a "green" lifestyle.

A soft-spoken travelogue writer rather than a superhero, in "Think Like a Mountain" (originally released in 1996 as a six-issue mini-series), Concrete goes where no mineral man has gone before. He accompanies a group of Earth First! activists to Washington state so he can record their attempt to save an old growth forest from the mechanized blades of a huge lumber company. Beautifully, even lovingly rendered in words and pictures by Paul (and colored by his wife), this story follows Concrete's evolution from a reluctant supporter of environmental extremism to an uncompromising eco-warrior. The story's engaging, character driven plot delivers fascinating facts about nature, valuable instruction on the ethics and tactics of civil disobedience, and frightening encounters with such "villains" as industrial waste and global human overpopulation (and yes, both the original series and the trade paperback were printed on recycled paper).

This story's synthesis of drawings, colors and words demonstrates that the unique medium of graphic literature can convey important messages with an eloquence that pictures or prose alone could not achieve. Some of the scenes that left the most profound impressions on me were the verbal and visual view of Washington's ravaged landscape seen from 20,000 feet above; Concrete's envisioning of a gargantuan composite human monstrosity devouring and defiling the planet; and the "last stand" of a felled old growth giant rising to the defense of an Earth First!er as he runs from authorities across a clear cut wasteland. The climax, which relied on the immediacy of images for its impact-both on the reader and the world in which Concrete lives-brought about a resolution that was as optimistic as it could be without totally losing its grounding in reality (forgetting, for the moment, that story revolves around a living rock man). Finally, it was extremely gratifying to see that this bittersweet outcome only strengthened Concrete's resolve to defend Mother Earth. Overall, I cannot think of any other work that better exemplifies the legitimacy and power of graphic literature as an art form.

Rating:
Summary: Enthocentrism in comic form
Review: This book is great. the images are great. but most importantly the story's great and very thoughtful.

It's really challenges you and pushes for a change in our enviromental policy. We need to see many more graphic novels incorporating events from modern times and issues.

Read it for my enviromental class at the local college. Give it a try

Rating:
Summary: Enthocentrism in comic form
Review: This book is great. the images are great. but most importantly the story's great and very thoughtful.

It's really challenges you and pushes for a change in our enviromental policy. We need to see many more graphic novels incorporating events from modern times and issues.

Read it for my enviromental class at the local college. Give it a try