Ex Libris
Ex Libris revolves around a character trapped in a room with nothing but a futon and a bookcase full of comics. As they peruse covers, read stories and fragments of stories, they begin to suspect that the comics contain hidden messages and... a threat. Fiction and reality blur; sanity and madness become increasingly intertwined as the reader becomes convinced the key to their predicament is to be found between the panels of the strange books. With a dizzying array of inventive visual and narrative styles, Ex Libris continues the line of exploration and play that Madden initiated with 99 Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises in Style. Ex Libris is a tribute to the meta-fictional tradition of writers like Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortázar, Vladimir Nabokov, and Italo Calvino (whose novel, If on a Winter's Night a Traveler, was the inspiration).
MATT MADDEN (NYC 1968) is a cartoonist, teacher, and translator. His best-known book is 99 Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises in Style, a comics adaptation of Raymond Queneau's Exercises in Style. His recent work includes the comic books Drawn Onward and Bridge. He has been living in Philadelphia since 2016.
Earn by promoting books
Earn money by sharing your favorite books through our Affiliate program.
Become an affiliate
MATT MADDEN (NYC 1968) is a cartoonist, teacher, and translator. His best-known book is 99 Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises in Style, his comics adaptation of Raymond Queneau's Exercises in Style. He and his wife Jessica Abel co-authored the textbooks Drawing Words & Writing Pictures and Mastering Comics. He has translated numerous comics from French, most notably The Zabime Sisters by Aristophane and Piero by Edmond Baudoin. His most recent work is the graphic novel, Ex Libris. He has been living with his family in Philadelphia since 2016.
Madden calls attention brilliantly to the medium's building blocks--elements like panel borders and sound effects--in a kind of comics theory course with the punch line of the protagonist declaring that "drawings have a greater power than words to get under your skin." This endlessly inventive work is a metafictional master class in comics.--Publishers Weekly; Starred Review
Madden displays a keen mastery of numerous visual and narrative styles. A formally inventive, deeply emotional tale, reminiscent of Italo Calvino's If On a Winter's Night a Traveler...--Library Journal
This elegant showcase of graphic storytelling displays deep knowledge of the language of comics. The book's metafictional forays always serve the unnamed reader's tale, too; the subtle build of the mood and suspense around them results in a dazzling graphic novel.--Foreword Reviews; Starred Review
Praise for 99 Ways to Tell A Story:
A fascinating analysis of and a treatise, of sorts, on language in comics. --Steven Heller, designer and author
Balances postmodern irony with genuine invention and amusement. --The Guardian
There's a new discovery on every page, making this one of the most thrilling and surprising graphic novels around.--Comics Worth Reading
Astonishingly, for a book that is above all else repetitive, it never gets boring. Even the obvious is interesting, and Madden also comes up with a lot of great stuff, ways of seeing that might not have occurred to the reader. Fantastic and thought-provoking fun. Highly recommended.--The Complete Review
![The Bean Book: 100 Recipes for Cooking with All Kinds of Beans, from the Rancho Gordo Kitchen [A Cookbook]](https://images-us.bookshop.org/ingram/9781984860002.jpg?height=250&v=v2-7400cb3badc696c5c26291bab7b06b47)
