Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened

By Jason Rodriguez

“The inventive writers and illustrators who crafted these transporting stories just may convince you to trash your BlackBerry and buy some stamps.”
–Frank Warren, author of PostSecret

You’ve seen them at flea markets and in antique shops and used-book stores across the country: Vintage postcards inscribed with handwritten notes, evocative messages that capture a thought, an expression, a concern, a snapshot of someone’s life once upon a time. Jason Rodriguez, acclaimed editor of Elk’s Run, collected a remarkable array of these correspondences, dispersed them among thirty-three of comics’ greatest creators, and asked each to craft a story about the person who sent it. The result is a vividly imagined, gorgeously rendered graphic anthology illustrating tales of romance, adventure, hardship, and mystery. In Postcards, these gifted artists share some of the richest and most inventive work of their careers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Apr 2, 2009
• ISBN: 9780307497338

Reviews for Postcards

[tiamatq_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I bought this book a few years ago at SDCC and I finally got around to reading it. Writers and artists come together to tell stories based off of older postcards and the messages written on them. It's an interesting exercise, and the stories range from sweet romances to creepy murder mysteries, histories and childhoods to campy superheros. My two favorites were "A Joyous Eastertide," a man's memory of his devoted stepmother, who had Tourette's Syndrome, and "Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland," a story of a lost romance, discovered only after a funeral unearths an old, hidden postcard. There are a couple of stories/artwork that is hit-and-miss, but overall I enjoyed this collection so much, particularly compared to other collections like Comic Book Ink. There's a lot more to relate to in this collection, and it will have you thinking about the stories behind postcards... and those that could have been!

[paghababian_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Art created from found objects. Postcards can be telling yet cryptic - there's not much room to write a message. This story in this collection of graphic stories starts with an old postcard and builds off of the text and pictures. Some were great, but as a whole, the collection fell a little flat for me. Definitely enjoyable, though.