Week ending April 12, 2019

Ottaviani, Jim (text) & Leland Myrick & Rachel Polk (illus.). Hawking. First Second. Jul. 2019. 304p. ISBN 9781626720251. $29.99. SCI/BIOG
As with their previous collaboration on the life of American physicist Richard Feynman, writer Ottaviani (The Imitation Game: Alan Turing Decoded) and artist Myrick (Missouri Boy), with colorist Polk, present a loving and meticulous look at a notable scientific mind, this time capturing the story of British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking (1942–2018). They illustrate not only Hawking’s intellect, which triumphed despite the physical limitations caused by Lou Gehrig’s disease, but also the history of theoretical physics, from Isaac Newton through Albert Einstein and into the 21st century. The result is an account intellectually heady but weighed down in parts by the sheer accumulation of detail: recounting Hawking’s numerous teaching posts and academic conferences and relationships with international colleagues and associates. Luckily, Myrick’s art is equally adept at presenting a vast cast of characters and increasingly complex theories of black holes, quantum physics, and time travel.
VERDICT This dense, information-rich account of one of the world’s most important scientists is best suited for those interested in the development of theoretical physics over the last century and for anyone seeking a close examination of Hawking’s life.—Chris Kretz, Southampton Lib., Stony Brook Univ., NY

Stamaty, Mark Alan. MacDoodle St. NYRC. Apr. 2019. 120p. ISBN 9781681373423. $24.95. COMICS
A contributor to national publications for decades, writer/artist Stamaty is also known as a political cartoonist (“Washingtoon”) and children’s book creator (Who Needs Donuts?; Alia’s Mission: Saving the Books of Iraq). This volume, with an introduction by Jules Feiffer, reprints Stamaty's first major feature, which originally appeared as weekly strips in the Village Voice, 1978–79, and tells the story of a poet at the magazine Dishwasher Monthly who uncovers a sinister conspiracy. The hilarious narrative incorporates a talking baseball card, a cow spirit guide, and a cell of angry Wayne Newton fans. Stamaty’s strips are filled with surreal transformations, inventive page design, prolific decoration, and marginal commentary, frequently digressing and addressing its own plot, creation, and readers’ expectations. In a new “Addendum” in comic form, Stamaty explains the circumstances around the strip’s end and his subsequent artistic rejuvenation.
VERDICT Readers looking for an extremely funny metacomic will enjoy this work immensely, as will those wanting a taste of 1970s New York City. The addendum is a fascinating, personal portrait of the life of a creative artist.—Bill Hardesty, Georgia State Univ. Libs., Atlanta