Compare The Graphic Canon, Volume 1: From Epic of Gilgamesh to Shakespeare Dangerous Liaisons

(Seven Stories Press) is a gorgeous, one-of-a-kind trilogy that brings classic literatures of the world together with legendary graphic artists and illustrators. There are more than 130 illustrators represented and 190 literary works over three volumes—many newly commissioned, some hard to find—reinterpreted here for readers and collectors of all ages. Volume 1 takes us on a visual tour from the earliest literature through the end of the 1700s. Along the way, we're treated to eye-popping renditions of the human race's greatest epics: , (in watercolors by Gareth Hinds), The , and , plus later epics and (both by legendary illustrator and graphic designer Seymour Chwast), , and . Two of ancient Greece's greatest plays are adapted—the tragedy by Euripides and Tania Schrag’s uninhibited rendering of the very bawdy comedy by Aristophanes (the text of which is still censored in many textbooks). Also included is Robert Crumb’s rarely-seen adaptation of James Boswell’s , filled with philosophical debate and lowbrow debauchery. Religious literature is well-covered and well-illustrated, with the Books of Daniel and Esther from the Old Testament, Rick Geary’s awe-inspiring new rendition of the Book of Revelation from the New Testament, the , Rumi’s Sufi poetry, Hinduism’s , and the Mayan holy book , illustrated by Roberta Gregory. The Eastern canon gets its due, with (the world’s first novel, done in full-page illustrations reminiscent of Aubrey Beardsley), three poems from China’s golden age of literature lovingly drawn by pioneering underground comics artist Sharon Rudahl, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, a Japanese Noh play, and other works from Asia. Two of Shakespeare’s greatest plays ( ) and two of his sonnets are here, as are Plato’s , Renaissance poetry of love and desire, and visualized by the legendary Will Eisner. Some unexpected twists in this volume include a Native American folktale, an Incan play, Sappho’s poetic fragments, bawdy essays by Benjamin Franklin, the love letters of Abelard and Heloise, and the decadent French classic , as illustrated by Molly Crabapple. Edited by Russ Kick, is an extraordinary collection that will continue with in Summer 2012, and in Fall 2012. A boxed set of all three volumes will also be published in Fall 2012.