I've enjoyed many of Donna Barr's graphic novels, both her "Desert Peach" series (about WWII General Rommel's much prettier - and very, very gay - brother) and her "Stinz" tales, about a clan of centaurs living in what looks like Austria during the early 1900's. This collection focuses on Stinz' experiences during wartime, and it's been on my bookshelves for quite a while, so I thought I'd try and get it moving!

The stories meander between domestic comedy (including any scene with Stinz and his wife), rural humor, sarcasm, and occasional political commentary (such as some of the grimmer scenes of wartime), but for the most part it's lighthearted. Bits such as Stinz' difficulties when he first joins the army, in part because the "two-legs" he meets there have never seen his kind before, and tend to stare a lot - and in part because of little procedural problems, such as the quartermaster issuing him pants even though he clearly can't wear them, since it'd mess up the books otherwise. Oh, and the cute scene during the physical exam - hint, do NOT startle someone who can kick like a horse {grin}. I really adore this series!

I'm putting this book into AKSarah's graphic novel/manga bookbox, which will be on its way to BCer quietorchid in Minnesota soon. Hope someone enjoys the book!

Looks interesting; I'll be keeping this one.

Read yesterday.

This is my first introduction tot he Stinz series, but my curiosity has definitely been aroused and I really want to read more of the series. Stinz is a centaur - although he and his people prefer the term "four-leggers" - living in Germany or Austria at the cusp of World War I. He is drafted into the army, and is both the first and (as far as the reader knows) only four-legger serving in the military. A mixture of comedy and drama, his time in the army is largely glossed over. We see him as a youth in training camp, and heading out for his first battle, and then the story moves forward a couple of decades to Stinz's middle age, and save for a few flashbacks we don't really see much of his time in the trenches. Still, it's an interesting fantasy spin on WWI.

I've been trying to sort out this series' printing history, since it seems fairly obvious that the graphic novel began it's life as a series of single issues. But has the entire series been published in graphic novel collections, or would I have to track down old comics to get the full story? Wikipedia and Google - even the author's own website! - have been decidedly unclear on this point. There are a couple of titles listed in the book, but I don't know if the list is comprehensive or not. I'm overthinking this, aren't I?

I guess my desire to find more books is a good sign that I liked the book and want to read more! The characters are quite enjoyable. Stinz is that perfect combination of brash, foolhardy youth and modest, sheltered child, and it makes his antics both hilarious and poignant, because you know that so much of his innocence will be destroyed by World War I. (It's also quite sad the way everyone is desperately pretending or completely ignoring the fact that war is on its way; everyone clings to the idea that the war won't hapen.) His fellow soldiers are well-developed and quickly grew on me.

adding to the Graphic Novel Shrinking Bookbox!

The boy's got a mind

like a mayfly,
15 seconds and he's gone.

Hmmmm.... I not a fan of war stories in graphic novels. Generally, I find they're more about the gratuitous gore and aggressively over violent behavior and rape. All things I take offensively.

That's why I was very surprised when I found that I actually really enjoyed this one. It was long but even when I had to keep coming back to it, because I didn't have time to get through it, I wasn't bothered by it. It was fun to read.

When I finally got to the end and decided for sure that I liked it, that's when I checked the author and was startled to find it was a woman that had written the war story, not a guy like is the case 99% of the time in American War comics.

So I guess there you have it. That's why it didn't have the offensive unnecessary scenes and was more about the story.

But now I'm done with it, and I'll be replacing it back in the box, for others to take a look at. :)

I though Desert Peach (sadly lost with the LGBT box) was an interesting read, so I'll take this one out of GoryDetails's graphic novel shrinking bookbox and give it a try.

Stinz the half-horse certainly had some adventures: the German army just wasn't prepared for someone like him!

I particularly like Barr's little curly doodles and the way she does the credits: "the works", "spoons will be counted" "was here", etc.

Headed out to the winner of the graphic novel/manga sweepstakes - enjoy!

I'll count this as a release for zbird's A to Z challenge.

I got this from hyphen8 for the manga and comic sweeps. Thanks, hyphen8! The book looks great and I can't wait to read it! :)

This book is getting tucked into Waternixie's Potluck Book Box. Happy travels! :)

Picked this out of Waternixie's potluck book box.

Sorry, I don't remember the exact institution or address this was left at. A cancer treatment center that has magazines to read in the front lobby, and free books on living with cancer, also in the front lobby. I left this with the free books....really terrific drawing in this graphic novel, and an interesting view of German-Austrian rural culture through an SF lens.