Some John Hartford…
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Gentle on my Mind
Some John Hartford…
Litterbugs
There was a lot of litter this morning in an area on top of the Scarborough Bluffs. It seems there were quite a few assholes there setting off Canada Day fireworks the other day, who thought the best thing to do with their litter was to leave it for somebody else to clean up.
This makes me angry and it reminds me that I don’t much like fireworks.
The early bird….
….gets the worm.
Red Admiral
On today’s nature walk with Miles Hearn – at Scarborough Bluffs – one of the people on the walk showed us the caterpillar which becomes a red admiral butterfly inside a curled up stinging nettle leaf. He told us this caterpillar becomes the Red Admiral butterfly.
Criminal: Coward
Since I’ve been writing a graphic novel based on my short-short stories, I’ve started reading other comics aimed at a literary or adult audience (see my recent review of American Splendor by Harvey Pekar) The most recent of this is the first of the Criminal series by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, Coward, which came out in 2006. These guys have won loads of awards and seem to be very well established in the comic universe.
Coward is what I guess you could call noir graphic novel material. It’s a story about a career criminal and a heist that goes all wrong. It’s a graphic novel in full colour. The drawing is competent featuring plenty of high contrast drawing reminiscent of noir films. On the positive side, I thought the artwork did a good job of propelling the story and creating atmosphere to enhance the story. At the same time I didn’t find it to be highly imaginative or full of character.
At the back of the book, the covers from the original serialization are printed. These covers, in my opinion, were far more compelling than artwork in the story. They reminded me of the kind of drawings on some old pulp fiction covers.
The story is strongly plot-driven. I found it difficult to empathize with any of the characters, really. There is loads of violence throughout. I understand that this is part of a series and so I expected some kind of to be continued ending, but I would have like to have better resolution of this particular story.
This series is apparently very popular. I had a look at some of the reviews on Goodreads, and most of the readers were very enthusiastic about this book, with just a smattering of readers who rated it (as I did) as just OK.
In the scheme of things, reading this book is part of my education into the world of graphic novels. Since I’m writing one, I ought to know what others have done in the genre, right? I guess most people who write a graphic novel are long-term fans of the genre.
If I compare this book with the last book of comics for an adult market I just read – the American Splendor anthology, I have to say this one is not in the same league. In fairness, the approaches are far different and I think there is room for this type of pulpy crime-oriented graphic novel – but Pekar’s work is much more up my alley. Coward is readable, fairly slick, well-paced, but not great.
If there are any graphic novel lovers out there, which ones do you recommend? No superheroes please.
Squeeze Box Man Vol. 2 is now available
The second volume of Squeeze Box Man is now available. It’s a graphic novel in 6 parts – any 1 issue can be read on its own, but together they complete the story arc. Follow the exploits of Lazy Allen, Staash Dudas and the whole gang.
If you’re in Toronto, drop by West End Comics to get your copy, or email 27thstreetpress@gmail.com to order. Over 50 pages of adult comic goodness for $12 + $3 postage.
Can you identify the 3 faces on the cover of Volume 2?
Garden Folk
Ginger Boys
Julie Doucet’s My New York Diary
I just read Julie Doucet’s graphic novel, My New York Diary. Doucet started publishing long-form comics in 1987 in the form of a zine called Dirty Plotte, and kept at it until 2006, when she walked away from the form. My New York Diary is an autobiographical work covering a period during which she moved from Montreal to New York and ending with a move to Seattle.
Her drawing is quite dense, or perhaps busy is a better word, or maybe cluttered. At first I found that to be disconcerting and difficult for me to navigate. There was simply a lot to look at in the small frames on the page. I soon got over that and found myself drawn into the work. I came to appreciate the level of wacky detail in the drawings.
Much of the book deals with her life with her boyfriend living in a crappy apartment in Washington Heights in NY. She creates comics. They drink a lot and take a lot of drugs. She has epilepsy and starts having more seizures. Her boyfriend blames their deteriorating relationship on her medication.
My New York Diary is in the same kind of graphic novel genre as the last comic I read, American Splendor, in that it features the author and follows her everyday life. Doucet depicts herself on the one hand as someone who is willing to abruptly move to another city but on the other hand she is willing to put on display her own frailties, destructive life choices and difficult relationships.
Recommended.
Jubilee Stomp
Check out this hot outfit – Tuba Skinny.
And how about the Postage Stomp:
Made my day.
27th Street 