Rex Libris: I, Librarian by James Turner

I couldn't resist a graphic novel with a title like that, and when I pulled it from the library shelf the art-deco artwork sealed it for me (though actually the interior art style is nothing like that, more like early 90s computer graphics). The introduction by Dave Sim helped, too (if you've read the Ostragoth blog you'll know he single-handedly got me into comics as something that went beyond The Beano).

Rex Libris was a librarian at the great library of Alexandria, and is still going strong in the present-day. He's a good librarian, he likes discipline and order. And if that means chasing overdue books across the galaxy and fighting evil warlords, that's what he'll do. Since he feels that librarians don't always get the credit they're due, he's chosen to break the code of silence and describe his life and adventures via a series of comics.

You can read this graphic novel (which collects the first five comics) as an entertaining adventure story with enjoyably ludicrous plots, but you can also appreciate a dose of satire and a handful of classical and literary references if you feel like it. On the whole I liked it, but I confess I didn't understand why Rex occasionally said 'dat' and 'dis' instead of 'that' and 'this' (I couldn't see any pattern to it and it seemed a little out of character), and a few instances of spelling mistakes, repeated or missing words in the captions/dialogue jumped out at me. I will be looking out for further volumes though.