title: Michael Chabon Presents. . .The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist, Volume 1
author:  Michael Chabon 
description: Fans of Chabon's <i>Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay</i> (2000) who long to read the actual comic-book adventures of the Escapist, the superhero created by the novel's young protagonists, have recently had the chance, thanks to the comic book of which this is the first collection. It purports to repackage the "original" Escapist stories, dating from the 1940s. Scripting the Escapist's origin story himself, Chabon has enlisted contributions from leading comics artists and writers, including Howard Chaykin, Kyle Baker, and Chris Ware. The results seem rather inauthentic; attempting to copy the crude art and simplistic scripts of vintage comics would have been more audacious and perhaps more entertaining. There's no escaping the fact that these stories are just above-average mainstream superhero exploits that probably appeal more to comics aficionados than readers of the novel. Not nearly as impressive as the groundbreaking Kavalier-Clay collaborations Chabon's fiction suggested. <i>Gordon Flagg</i><br /><i>Copyright  American Library Association. All rights reserved</i>
zlib_text: 
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](images/Chab_9780812993677_epub_cvi_r1.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  **Praise for**  
   _The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay_
  
  
  **Winner of**  
  The Pulitzer Prize  
  The New York Society Library Book Award  
  The Bay Area Book Reviewers Award
  
  
  **Finalist for**  
  The National Book Critics Circle Award  
  The PEN/Faulkner Award  
  The _Los Angeles Times_ Book Prize
  
  
  **Named one of** **_Entertainment Weekly_** **’s**  
   **Best Books of the Decade**  
    
    
  
  
  “The depth of Chabon’s thought, his sharp language, his inventiveness and his
  ambition make this a novel of towering achievement.”
  
  
  _—The New York Times Book Review_
  
  
  “I’m not sure what the exact definition of a ‘great American novel’ is, but
  I’m pretty sure that Michael Chabon’s sprawling, idiosyncratic, and wrenching
  new book is one.… [It] had me hooked from the first, wistful, epic-tinged
  sentence … to the final poignant line.”
  
  
  _—New York_
  
  
  “Towering, swash-buckling thrill of a book … the themes are masterfully
  explored, l