Two-in-One Review: Little Lit: It Was a Dark and Silly Night... Rain pelted against the window pane, and lightning split the dark, night sky in 'twain. Something scratched at the back door of the cottage. It was Uncle Elmer, delivering a Jell-O pizza, and that's when Randy and Don knew It Was a Dark and Silly Night. Don: When one thinks of a children's book, what comes to mind is a short story with illustrations wrapped up in an oversized hardcover. Well, HarperCollins has the oversized, thin hardcover thing on the go, but instead of a single story with illustrations, the publisher has developed an anthology of short-form comics storytelling. The latest in it's Little Lit line is a quirky book with clear European influences at play. Randy: I come at this children's book from a slightly different angle, since my daughter just turned one year old and I'm already starting to figure out what sort of stories and that kind of thing I'll read to her as she gets a little older and able to appreciate them. As Don notes, Little Lit is not just for the kiddie set, but for comics enthusiasts of every stripe, and while this is definitely kid-friendly, it has the feel of a high class indie anthology as much as a children's book to it. Little Lit: It Was a Dark and Silly Night... written and illustrated by various edited by Art Spiegelman & Francois Mouly published by HarperCollins Don: For most comics fans, two names on the cover of this book will jump out: Neil Gaiman and Art Spielgelman. The former contributes a story, but the latter only handles the cover and editing chores. The premise here is a simple one: the writers and artists are given one line to launch a story: "It was a dark and silly night." Where that led them was to an astonishingly diverse array of subject material, but all segments in this book have something in common: a sense of fun. Randy: Indeed, the notion of basing all the stories around that one line does seem to have generated a delightfully fun series of stories. Each of the writers and artists came at this premise with a very different approach, and while not every tale struck a chord with me, all of them definitely embraced the fun, all-ages spirit of the book that Spiegelman and Mouly were aiming for. Don: My favorite story in the book is the one that embraces the theme most faithfully, and that's Lemony Snicket and Richard Sala's tale of a Yeti lurking outside a frozen village and the young girl who seeks the creature out. It's a story of self-fulfilling prophecies and a celebration of curiosity, exploration and adventure. Gaiman's story is an enjoyable one as well, but I have to admit that I've never been partial to acclaimed cartoonist's Gahan Wilson's style. There's an ugliness in the characters that works against the innocent tone that the story strives to foster. Randy: We're in total agreement that Snicket and Sala's story is the best in this volume, and while the actual plot becomes predictable to an adult early on, it's still easy to find yourself wrapped up in this tale and very taken with the magic that Snicket's narrative presents and Sala's artwork delivers on so well. I'm also pretty much with you the Gaiman/Wilson collaboration, as I didn't think Wilson was the ideal choice for Gaiman's unusual but fun story, but I didn't think it failed to get across the general sense of the story either. Don: A couple of the stories here seem a little too surreal for kids and deviate from the theme a bit too much. Among them is J. Otta Seibold and Vivian Walsh's tale of two greedy penguins. There's plenty of silliness, yes, but not a lot in the way of darkness or night. Joste Swarte's and Carlos Nine's contributions seem even more off point, bizarre and beyond the grasp of the target audience. Hell, much of their material is beyond just about any audience. A couple of the features aren't comics at all, but games for the kiddies. Randy: I was right there with you at the beginning, but you sort of lost me here. Seibold and Walsh, creators of Olive the Other Reindeer, tell a tale of two penguins which I really enjoyed, both in visual style and in charm. There's a nice build-up to their story as a promise made early in the story makes its way towards inevitably being broken, and while the moral isn't hammered home as strongly as the morals of many children's story, there are definitely lessons to be taken away in terms of selfishness and considering the feelings and actions of others. I was also quite pleased by William Joyce's lush adventure strip, featuring a group of young adventurers and their battle against well-armed warrior florists using a silly ray. It's the kind of thing that could easily have crossed over into overly surreal territory, but I thought Joyce did a nice job of keeping it light, funny and just weird enough, and the artwork is beautiful. I don't disagree with you that the work of Swarte and Nine, no matter how much I might have gotten some chuckles out of the former, seems kind of out of place in this children-friendly book, but the puzzles and games are right at home. I particularly liked the touch of getting "Where's Waldo?" creator Martin Handford to do the inside front and back covers in a nod to his own style, and Barbara McClintock's paintings are beautiful on their own and just right for the sort of brain teaser that young children can enjoy. Don: Perhaps the greatest strength of this book, at least for adult enthusiasts of the medium, is the chance to see some distinct creative talent one doesn't see in mainstream comics at work. I've heard of the legendary Basil Wolverton for years, for example, and I was delighted to get a chance to sample his work here. Randy: Indeed, this entire book, even the stories that you and I found a bit too on the surreal side, is beautifully illustrated. Anyone out there who has young children should think about putting a copy of Little Lit: It was a Dark and Silly Night... on their bookshelf, but if you're a comic art fan, you're probably going to want to peruse it a few times yourself, if only to take in some terrific artwork presented in a lovely format. Email Randy and Don comments about this review.