The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien written and illustrated by John Hendrix, reviewed by Klaudia Janek

Summary: "The Mythmakers" is a graphic novel biography that explores the friendship and creative journey of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. This narrative, enriched with comic panels, follows their lives from childhood through their experiences in World War I, their meeting at Oxford, and the formation of their literary group, the Inklings. The story reveals how their friendship influenced their legendary works, such as "The Chronicles of Narnia" and "The Lord of the Rings," and how they redefined fantasy as a genre for adults. John Hendrix masterfully combines historical facts with fiction, providing insights into their personal and professional lives, while also touching on themes of mythology, faith, and creativity.

Straight Talk for Librarians: I really enjoyed this book and learned a lot about how the fantasy genre came to be!  It was interesting to have this view of how and why Tolkien and Lewis's friendship developed and how it influenced their writing.  Even after all these years, students are still checking books out by both authors. I think that literature teachers (and other readers) would love this book to explore the impact of Lewis and Tolkien on the fantasy genre. There is definitely an opportunity to explore the historical context of World War I and II and their influence on literature. This would complement a World Religions class and/or Philosophy. I think that within the library a book club could be conducted like the Inklings.  I think the color palette was muted to help convey the emotion of the story and it was fun to see the characters from both authors' stories within the pages.  I think a lot of sadness was conveyed during the wars and then as the friendship started to change.  The vocabulary is pretty high level and a good choice for high school students and even adult readers. I highly recommend this book for all kinds of libraries.