Lacy (winner, Most Affectionate)
@ Dupont Circle
Q:If your dog was a celebrity, who would it be?
A:"Charlize Theron. She's glamorous."
JOSEPH PATRICK LARKIN may or may not be a rotten human being; what you think isn't important. (Except that it is, desperately so.)
The author and artist behind "The Arcade of Cruelty," an autobiographical comic-with-writing in a big, plush package, dances nimbly across the line between the persona on the page and the charmer on the phone, one disavowing the other in rapid succession.
Despite the fact that Larkin has basically opened his brain — and his past — and dumped them between covers, figuring out which is Pinocchio and which the real boy is a mug's game. What you see — collages of sexy pictures, random and fecund sketchbook excerpts, beautiful monotypes of his "real" art, pages-long attacks on fellow indie comic writers, a good chunk of annotated school yearbook and, mostly, scabrous rehashing of a truly woeful romantic history — is the worst impulses of a too-smart, cripplingly self-conscious human being retched into art and writing, and it's as funny as it is painful to read.
We spoke with Larkin from his home in Slidell, La., about the book, a conversation that devolved into rhapsodies on the alcopop Sparks, unprintable subjects and personal confession. Weird? Only if you're still reading superhero comics. You won't find anything like "Arcade of Cruelty" at a Border's near you, but you can find it at Larkin's Web site, also-ran.com.
"I WANT A paternity test," declares the father of the graphic novel, Art Spiegelman. It turns out that the artist, writer and editor — world famous for (take your pick) creating the Garbage Pail Kids, drawing a series of arresting New Yorker covers, writing the Holocaust allegory "Maus," etc. — is highly critical of the form he is said to have created.
"When I come to the Corcoran [on May 4], I don't know what the lecture's being called, but in my head, it's called, "What the %@&*! Happened to Comic Books?"
"And what happened to them," Spiegelman continued, "was an escalating set of ambitions on the part of comix artists — and that I very much identify with — and some very good marketing. That baffles me, because merely by changing the name, one was able to get a situation where I can sit on an airplane, read a comic book and somebody will come over and say, 'Is that graphic novel any good?' And I'll say, 'Who's the dope in aisle C?'"
Spiegelman, editor of a long series of magazines and children's anthologies, is an unabashed advocate for the comic book form, whether in its most traditional sense or in its most fiendishly bizarre extremes. Characteristically outspoken, witty and insightful, Spiegelman is — with wife Francoise Mouly, the New Yorker's longtime art editor — part of one of America's great power couples. They have shared credit on many of Spiegelman's most prominent projects and are currently putting the finishing touches on another edition of "The TOON Treasury of Classic Children's Comics."
OK, TRY TO follow. The quest for the Holy Grail is on; Europe is suffering under the feudalist system — oh, and it's 1933.
That's the basic outline of "Rex Mundi," Arvid Nelson's complex, ravishing, graphic novel series, illustrated by EricJ. The series stars Dr. Sauniere — handsome, mysterious and totally unprepared for tracking down the sacred relic. The hero's adventures involve intrigue, conspiracy, an ambitious ex-girlfriend and an all-powerful Catholic Church. Excerpts from a French newspaper cleverly expand and illuminate the story.
There will be stacks and stacks of the five volumes of "Rex Mundi" — more are in the works, Nelson promises — at Tenleytown's Fantom Comics on Saturday for Free Comic Book Day. Nelson himself (also the author of "Kull" and "Zero Killer") will be on hand from noon to 2 p.m. and again from 4 to 6 p.m. to sign copies and soak up the friendly, knowledgeable Fantom atmosphere. Best of all, there will be free comics as promised.
Continue Reading "Slim Volumes, Big Fantasies: Free Comic Book Day" »
WHEN COMICS HISTORIAN Craig Yoe purchased a rare copy of "Nights of Horror" at a rare-book sale, he had no idea what adventures awaited him between the covers.
Of course, he knew of the lurid contents: "Nights of Horror," of which only 16 issues were published in the mid-1950s, specialized in seedy pulp stories of S&M exploitation illustrated with pencil drawings of voluptuous women in torn garters and square-jawed men wielding whips or worse.
"Nights" was notorious as the inspiration for the Brooklyn Thrill Killers, a group of teenagers who attacked women with bullwhips and tortured homeless men. That incident added fuel to the anti-comics crusade, and 80 detectives were assigned to investigate the menace-to-society publication.
The publisher and printer were jailed, but the head writer avoided prosecution by dumping the manuscripts into the Long Island Sound. As a result of the trial, Congress officially censored comic books, effectively hobbling the industry and its artists.
Escaping prosecution, the artist responsible for the graphic illustrations remained anonymous for decades, but it took Yoe only a few moments to form a theory.
Continue Reading "Super Secret: Craig Yoe Uncovers Joe Shuster's 'Secret Identity'" »
ON OCT. 2, 1950, a new comic strip featuring a group of kids and a dog debuted in seven papers around the country.
No one, least of all the strip's creator, could have known that it would become one of the most successful comics ever, eventually appearing in more than 2,500 papers in 75 countries, or that it would leave such a profound mark on popular culture.
In that very first strip, Charles M. Schulz introduced us to his endearing (and to some extent autobiographical) main character, Charlie Brown, who, with the rest of the pint-sized "Peanuts" gang — his dog Snoopy, sister Sally, Linus and Lucy van Pelt, Pigpen, Schroeder and Peppermint Patty, among others — would continue to charm readers for almost 50 years.
Schulz drew "Peanuts" strips for daily and Sunday papers until the day before his death in 2000. In 2004, comic-book publishers Fantagraphics began the lofty project of publishing every "Peanuts" strip ever drawn. This is a lot easier said than done.
With a half-century's worth of comic strips to publish, the company has been putting out two books every year, each covering two years of Schultz's work; the last volume is scheduled for 2016. And as if that isn't ambitious enough, Fantagraphics has managed to track down a number of strips that, until now, had never been gathered for publication. Beautifully designed by comic artist Seth ("Palooka-Ville"), the volumes already out are a spectacular tribute to Schulz's work.
Continue Reading "This One Goes to 11: 'The Complete Peanuts 1971-1972'" »
"WATCHMEN" HAS A reputation as the Hamlet of graphic novels. Time Magazine included the title on its list of the best English-language novels since 1923, and more recently, Entertainment Weekly ranked it high on its own list of the best books since 1984. Apparently, every publication counting down the top fiction between two random dates has included this particular graphic novel and none other.
It is so revered that even I had heard of it, and I haven't ventured into a comic book store since I hit my teens.
I knew that there was a movie coming out and that creator Alan Moore disdains all movie versions of his titles. I also knew he had a huge beard. And of course I knew that some of the most profitable movies of the past decade have been based on graphic novels, which inform not only the characters on the big screen, but also the dark, grasping-for-gravitas tone. And finally, I knew I knew next to nothing about them, so I decided to wade into the shallow end of this particular pop culture swimming pool, test the waters, and see if I wanted to take a dip.
As arguably the most successful and mainstream example of the form, "Watchmen" seemed like the perfect start.
Continue Reading "Graphic, Not Novel: Who Reads the 'Watchmen'?" »
TWO NEW SIMILARLY TITLED graphic novels have come out, both are travelogues and both are by artists from the animation field. Yet the two hardcover books couldn't be more different.
Veteran cartoonist Guy Delisle created a new graphic novel, "Burma Chronicles" (Drawn & Quarterly), while Enrico Casarosa released his debut comic, "The Venice Chronicles" (AdHouse).
Delisle has made a career out of visiting unfriendly places and creating fascinating graphic novel travelogues about them. His first two, "Shenzhen: A Travelogue From China" and "Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea," offered in-depth views of these Communist countries from the perspective of a long-term visitor.
Continue Reading "Around the World: Graphic Novel Travelogues" »
BRIAN WOOD HAS told wonderful tales about Vikings, superheroes and future worlds.
But his slice-of-life stories in comics like "Demo" (AIT/Planet Lar) and "Local" (Oni Press) are where he really seems to shine.
The 12-issue miniseries "Local," illustrated by Ryan Kelly, which was recently collected in a massive, gorgeously designed graphic novel might be his magnum opus.
CARTOONIST ART SPIEGELMAN HAS ACCOMPLISHED a lot in his career. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his stunning graphic novel, "Maus," about his parents' lives during the Holocaust, and he's achieved critical acclaim for his work with the New Yorker, the Raw comics anthology magazine and his 9/11 book, "In the Shadow of No Towers."
But when he talks about the highlight of his career, he's not talking about one of those things. He's talking about his appearance on "The Simpsons" last year, where fellow comic book creators Alan Moore and Daniel Clowes joined him.
"I know it's a great achievement — just ask my son," Spiegelman says, laughing. "I loved doing it. I love 'The Simpsons,' always have. I thought it was a great honor to say, 'A "Maus" is in the house.'"
Spiegelman, who is in town signing at Politics & Prose on Friday, has two new books out. One is an expanded reprint ofhis 1978 book, "Breakdowns," which is expanded with an introductory comic to provide context for the reprint and an essay explaining the introduction.
Continue Reading "Secret Identity: Art Spiegelman's Life Work" »
MAD MAGAZINE, WHICH has been at the forefront of biting, satirical humor since its inception in 1952, tackles the political season with its election issue and a new pop-up book that features some of the publication's best work.
Perhaps no magazine is better suited to take on what has been a divisive campaign, with Barack Obama and John McCain trading barbs at every opportunity. It's enough to make anybody say, "What, me worry?"
John Ficarra has been an editor at Mad since 1984, and in the election issue he — along with the usual gang of idiots — tackles the war on terror, TV punditry on shows like "Countdown with Keith Olbermann," John McCain's historical career and Sarah Palin, as well as looking at what high school elections would be like if they were treated like the presidential ones.
Ficarra also headed up a pop-up book, "Mad About Politics" and a poster book, "The Mad Magazine Poster Book: 15 Stupidly Big Prints!"
Express spoke to Ficarra, who gave some snappy answers to stupid questions.
Continue Reading "Comedy Before Country: Mad Magazine on Politics" »
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