Brian Chippendale is writing really fucking good criticism. It might be a new paradigm. Connecting images and genres and being damned funny, at that. Oh, also, there is a new Lightning Bolt record out. It also rules. Hi Brian! Hi!
Painting by Ben Jones
I realize it’s quite crass of me to only post here when I’m promoting, but as those who know me will tell you, I’m a crass jerk. So, that said, I’ll sprinkle in some appropriate content with my promotional text.
For example: Favorite comic taken home from SPX: Or Else #5. Post-SPX realization: Elektra Assassin is only good because of the art. And man, that is some fine, inspired cartooning. He was never better. I think Miller really is saved by his artists. It’s not that different in tone than his recent drekky stuff, but so beautifully imagined. Also, Ivan Brunetti’s new Yale anthology is just brilliant from top to bottom. I can’t help but smile at what he go away with: basically making a highly personal anthology for a major publisher. It’s so wonderfully indiosyncratic. I love it. Also, the complex and funny cover by Clowes reminds me why he’s so damn good, and that I can’t wait for whatever he does next. Plus, Ivan’s book finally gave me the little inspirational boost I need to get going on Art Out of Time 2, which at this point is so late it’s not even funny. Gee, what else… does anyone read Achewood? I’ve never read it. Maybe I’ll do that now. None of the above is actual, substantive writing, but, well, at least it’s something, and now on to the shameless promotion:
1) The Ganzfeld 7 is out now and will be in stores this week or next. 10 stores only or online. No Diamond, no bookstore distro. Edition of 1000. They are going very, very fast. Surprisingly so.
2) We’ve reduced prices on lots of stuff in the store again. All comics and zines especially. Poke around and you’ll find some deals/steals. Also, all King Terry stuff is back in stock.
3) Non-comics: Norman Hathaway has created a fantastic blog for Overspray: Riding High With the Kings of California Airbrush Art. Most PictureBox fans should check this out. I’m hugely proud of this book.
4) Also non-comics, but a little comics, since Michel, after all, did a comic:
Promoting his new book, You’ll Like This Film Because You’re In It, Michel Gondry is out on tour! Go see him!
Los Angeles:
Oct. 21, 7 pm: Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire, L.A. (A conversation and book signing)
Oct. 22, 7:30 pm: FAMILY, 436 N. Fairfax Ave., L.A. (book signing)
New York:
Oct. 25, 12-5 pm: NY Art Book Fair (PictureBox Booth I3), 450 West 15th Street at 10th Avenue, 3rd floor, NYC (Book signing)
Oct. 26, 2-5 pm: NY Art Book Fair (PictureBox Booth I3), 450 West 15th Street at 10th Avenue, 3rd floor, NYC (Book signing)
Oct. 27, 7 pm: The Strand, 828 Broadway, NYC (A conversation and book signing)
Well, that’s all I have for now, I think. Bye!
So, following Frank and Dan, I am now the last of the Comics Comics bigwigs to get interviewed on Inkstuds. You can listen to the carnage here.
I can’t really bring myself to listen to much of it yet. Lauren tells me it’s actually not that bad, but I still remember several answers that I would change if I had the chance to build a time machine and do it all over again. I’m sure I made other misstatements that I should correct, but I’ll spare everyone by just addressing the two I still recall in vivid insomnia-inducing glory.
1. When Robin mentioned Guy Davis, my brain immediately leaped to thoughts about the difference between “mainstream” and independent cartoonists, and for some reason I started talking about this post by Jacob Covey. I was thinking “generic talented artist working in the corporate comics world”, but in this context, Davis himself is about as bad a specific example as I can imagine. The bulk of his work is independent and/or creator-owned, and even in his work for DC and other big publishers, his art is almost unfailingly personal and ambitious. If I had been writing slowly instead of speaking quickly, I would’ve pointed out that Davis was not really the kind of artist I was talking about.
2. If I remember accurately, when discussing Steve Gerber, I talk about how while he never really wrote any entirely successful comic books, he still managed to pave the way for future good work, simply through his willingness to stretch the boundaries of corporate comic writing. I think I ended up saying that “someone had to do it.” In fact, though, his importance stems from the exact opposite of that statement: No one had to do it. He did it anyway. That’s what’s important about him. (This doesn’t even go into his legal fights for creator rights, which may be a more important legacy, but that’s another story.)
Anyway, that’s it, I think. Number 1 is much worse than number 2, and the one that really bothers me. I don’t want to know what numbers 3, 4, and 5 are, but feel free to point them out and mock me in the comments, or in person this weekend at SPX.
UPDATE: Okay. I listened to it. It’s not that bad. There are a few more parts that made me cringe a little, but nothing egregious enough to write about here. Only the Guy Davis part really makes me feel embarrassed ashamed embarrassed. Carry on.
UPDATE II: Also, it may have sounded like I was joking when I suggested that Robin get Paul Pope to do a cover for his bound collection of Ambush Bug comics, but actually, I think that would probably be pretty great!
I want to quickly apologize for linking to that incredibly lame video last night. (I’ve since deleted the post, but here‘s what I linked to, if you’re really curious.) When I found the video, I kind of muttered “ha ha” to myself in a monotone, and posted it without even thinking. Then I forgot all about it.
But at 4:30 this morning, I dreamed that I received an e-mail with the opening line (heard by me in a God-like voiceover), “Don’t start posting that kind of crap.” I woke up with a start, and couldn’t get back to sleep until I’d pulled down the post. Because the voice was right, and I don’t know why I ever linked to the video in the first place, other than a misguided attempt to put new content up here at least semi-regularly. I wasn’t even amused by it myself, and barely made it through watching the whole thing. I sometimes think bloggers do little besides trading links to things that don’t really interest anybody, including themselves, and everyone just kind of agrees to pretend that they’re half-way entertained, in a vain attempt to keep away the realization that we’re all slowly wasting our lives. I don’t want to contribute to that any more than I have to, so I’ll try to be a little more selective in the future.
The only aspect of that video of any real interest is the banal and obvious point that many in the comics community are able to fixate on particular characters, themes, and tropes to a possibly unhealthy degree. (Did you see that site Abhay Khosla found the other day? [Via Deppey.] That’s it to a tee.) I sometimes don’t know whether to pity or envy people who can do that. It must be kind of comforting to wake up and know, This is what matters to me. This is why I am here. I need to collect Wonder Woman merchandise. Or, I like looking at pictures of superheroes holding women in their arms. Of course, the downside is that you might alienate yourself from ninety-five percent of your fellow humans, but maybe it’s worth it, just to have that sense of purpose.
