Great minds and Big Brain

Who: Graphic novel authors Brittney Sabo, Anna Bratton and Lars Martinson

What: Book signing and after party

Where:Big Brain Comics, 1027 Washington Ave, S.

When:Saturday, Dec. 4 from 4 p.m. – 7 p.m.

There’s been a palpable shift in the readership and content of graphic novels since their inception. They’ve progressed from their beginnings with heavily caricatured “good” guys fighting “bad” guys to save the world. Now, seemingly insignificant characters are fighting to make sense of a world that has evolved uncontrolled.

“Francis Sharp in the Grip of the Uncanny!” by Brittney Sabo and Anna Bratton, brings to life Depression-era vexation that speaks to anyone who’s experienced the recent Great Recession.

“As for the 1930s overall, I think a quote from Daniel Knauf, the creator of the television series ‘Carnivale,’ describes my fascination with the time period,” Sabo said. “He called it the ‘last great age of magic,’ before World War II and the atomic bomb.”

Francis, the book’s title character, retreats into sanctimonious and fantastical seclusion to avoid the realities he faces with his family. Set on a New Jersey farmin the ’30s, the novel plunges adults and children alike into hardships that were sometimes easier to ignore than to overcome. Sabo, like many of the children that may read her books, easily identifies with Francis.

“I know I had a lot of trouble as a child with focusing on things outside of my head and daydreaming,” Sabo said. “At times it seemed like I just might stumble into another strange reality.”

“Francis Sharp in the Grip of the Uncanny!” will be one of two books featured at the upcoming, “Three Cartoonists. Two Graphic Novels. One Night,” event at Big Brain Comics.

Lars Martinson, creator of the new graphic novel “Tonoharu” will be presenting his work as well.

This novel, in contrast with “Francis Sharp,” is from an adult point of view, taking on Japan in a capacity that many post-grads dream of — as a language teacher. Upon arrival, however, the main character, Dan Wells, realizes that the cultural barriers that separate him from his new surroundings are almost impossible to scale.

Pulled from Martinson’s personal experience in Japan, the novel reflects the clear disconnect between the U.S. and its global neighbors. As described in the work, it’s not always the host who alienates the guest, as obscured and surreptitious feelings of cultural superiority on the part of the guest can be the deal-breaker in such situations.

Both of these graphic novels, and all three of their authors and illustrators, encapsulate and juxtapose fantasy against stark, real-world dilemmas. Design intricacies and clever cultural commentary impel readers to reexamine their environments, marking both novels as exceptional reads.