MOUSEGUARD!

Mouseguard author/artist David Petersen comes to chat with us and talk about his process, works in progress, plans, whatever -- in another in our series of visiting artists coming to the Takoma Park Maryland Library (101 Philadelphia Ave Takoma Park MD 20912) at 7:30 PM on Thursday 9/4/14

Stunning artwork, beautifully painted, appealing characters, small heroes proving stoic and determined against outsized odds -- if you have not yet met the valiant warriors of Mouseguard then you are in for a treat. If you have read them you know the story: the woods and wild spaces are patrolled by an intrepid band of determined guardmice. They protect the towns of civilized mousedom against constant threat in the form of predators and politics.

Where Mouseguard soars above most other comics is in the meticulously detailed and lush art. Divinity is in the details, the architecture of the buildings is both credible and to scale. If you happened to know any mouse-sized carpenters you could actually assemble these forts stone by stone, plank by plank. Realism promotes this book out of our 'all-ages' section where little kids might be frightened by plausible snakes and weasels taking swords through the eye and such like. But that realism lends verisimilitude to a world peopled by sword-carrying varmints.

The next book in the series is not due until later in the Fall, but that lets us get sneak peeks and previews into whatever Mr Petersen is working on next. But just to get a sense of how cool his work is, here are a few more stunning stellar examples.

Come check him out, have fun! Co-sponsored by the Friends of the Takoma Park MD Library and Fantom Comics of Dupont Circle, Washington DC.