Noah Van Sciver

The debut graphic novel from Noah Van Sciver follows the twentysomething Abraham Lincoln as he loses everything, long before becoming our most beloved president. Lincoln is a rising Whig in the state's legislature as he arrives in Springfield, IL to practice law. With all of his possessions under his arms in two saddlebags, he is quickly given a place to stay by a womanizing young bachelor who becomes his friend and close confidant. Lincoln builds a life and begins friendships with the town's top lawyers and politicians. He attends elegant dances and meets an independent-minded young woman from a high-society Kentucky family, and after a brisk courtship, becomes engaged. But, as time passes and uncertainty creeps in, young Lincoln is forced to battle a dark cloud of depression brought on by a chain of defeats and failures culminating into a nervous breakdown that threatens his life and sanity. This cloud of dark depression Lincoln calls "The Hypo." Dense crosshatching and an attention to detail help bring together this completely original telling of a man driven by an irrepressible desire to pull himself up by his bootstraps, overcome all obstacles, and become the person he strives to be. All the while, unknowingly laying the foundation of character he would use as one of America's greatest presidents.

Saint Cole depicts four days in the life of a twenty-eight-year-old suburbanite named Joe who feels trapped working overtime at a pizza restaurant to support his girlfriend, Nicole, and their infant child. Especially when Nicole invites her troubled mother, Angela, to move into their two-bedroom apartment until she lands on her feet again. Joe reacts to this development by further retreating into alcohol. He thinks he loves Nicole but resents her at the same time. They probably wouldn't still be with each other if she hadn't become pregnant. Joe wants out. He's angry. He's in a position to act rashly. And he does. This sophomore graphic novel from Noah Van Sciver may seem like a left turn from his critically acclaimed debut graphic novel biography of Abraham Lincoln (The Hypo), yet upon closer reflection, it continues Van Sciver's interest in pathos and the human condition. "Van Sciver['s]... spare style and determined cross-hatching allow a vivid sense of the scene - personal and social, ballroom to slave pen. He has successfully captured all these and brought them to life with his own idiosyncratic touch." - Paul Buhle, Rain Taxi

Decades in the making, an original graphic novel biography about the life of Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Latter-Day Saints In Joseph Smith and the Mormons , author and illustra tor Noah Van Sciver, who was raised a Mormon, covers one of history’s most controversial figures, Joseph Smith—who founded a religion which is practiced by millions all over the world. This book discusses all of the monumental moments during Smith’s life, including the anti-Mormon threats and violence which caused his followers to move from New York to Ohio, Smith’s receiving the divine commandment of plural marriage, his imprisonment, his announcement to run for president of the United States, and his ultimate murder by an angry mob in 1844 at the young age of 38. With a respectful and historical approach, and strikingly illustrated, this graphic novel is the ultimate book for those curious about the origins of the Mormon faith and the man who started it all. “A nuanced graphic biography of Mormonism’s founder . . . Van Sciver was raised Mormon and expertly threads the needle here, allowing space for genuine belief while highlighting human moments of doubt, dissembling, and anger in the Latter-Day Saint prophet.” — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

Did you know that a mainstay of American folk culture was in fact created as an advertising ploy? Few people realize that Paul Bunyan, the legendary lumberjack, and his blue ox are the product of corporate marketing by a highly industrialized industry. Cartoonist NOAH VAN SCIVER shows us the myth creation as real life marketing man extraordinaire W.B. Laughead spins ever more wondrous tall tales. Van Sciver's story is bracketed by rich contributions from contemporary Native artists and storytellers with a very different connection to the land that the Bunyan myths often conceal. Readers will see how a lumberjack hero, a quintessential American fantasy, captures the imagination but also serves to paper over the seizure of homeland from First Peoples and the laying bare of America's northern forests. It’s a tall tale with deep roots . . . in profit-making!