Graphic Novel Introduction: ‘A Night at the Sorrento and Other Stories’ by Henry Chamberlain

A man and woman with supernatural powers enter the city with ill tempers and a need to act out their frustrations. Not a good night for them or anyone near them. However, there’s more than a good chance that their destination, a luxury hotel with charm to spare, may contain their anxiety and solve their problems beyond their wildest dreams. That’s the story behind the title piece in “A Night at the Sorrento and Other Stories,” a collection of short works in comics plus a full length work (available here). Every story here finds characters at various turning points. It makes for good entertainment, I think, and it should prove a fun introduction to works in comics by yours truly.

The theme running throughout this collection is…running. All the characters are on the run, from themselves or towards themselves. No one here is at ease, at rest. If it’s not a battling warlock and witch in the first story, then it’s a man drowning in guilt, or a woman battling demons. We ease up a bit with a story about a dog blasted into outer space who must confront his new role in society. And then we switch to a different tempo for the big story. Things become whimsical, fanciful, but we’re still on the run.

Ah, the big story is a whole graphic novel to itself, “Alice in New York.” It is given a nice new presentation from previous short single issue print runs and, I hope, you’ll get lost in its quirky vision. This is a piece that I’ve contemplated redoing from scratch in the future. However, that may or may not happen. As the earliest work in this collection, having gone through a rocky process to being created, I feel there ultimately remains a lot of beauty in the beast. In fact, I’m quite pleased with the whole thing even if I have sharpened my skills and perhaps lay down a smoother line and know how to map out a more engaging composition. Well, I can be my own worst critic. You can get a taste of what’s in the book here. I’ve received many compliments over the years from reviewers and professionals so I actually feel pretty good about the whole thing. While I can be my own worst critic, I must also be my greatest fan. I know exactly what I’m doing and I know my worth.

My love for an expressive line is not going to go away. It will continue to flourish and develop. I have much more to create ahead of me. This is a perfect look at where I came from and will prove a apt guide for what lies ahead. I do provide a lengthy introduction in the book which covers other aspects of creating comics than I’m writing here. All in all, I offer for your consideration, a book that opens a window into an artist’s world, and gives you a sense of his vision, his progress, and his intentions.

Back to the theme of running, and searching. How far can my two feet take me? This book will appeal to anyone on a journey. And aren’t we all on a journey?

This amounts to a review of my own book, doesn’t it? Well, yes and no. Let’s just look at it as a little something extra, a substantial pitch, a conversational recap, or just another introduction to go with the introduction in the book. I do this to encourage some of you to review the book in a proper fashion and, even more of you, to seek it out and buy it. I hope you will. And, if you do, you too are welcome to review it. You can find “A Night at the Sorrento and Other Stories” at Amazon right here.