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| "dessine-moi un glouton" |
6/28/12
With apologies to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
I was re-reading "The Little Prince" the other day. There's a newer translation which is pretty good -- a little more conversational for the 21st century. It still captures the childlike spirit of the original French story. Still, nothing compares to reading it in French: "Dessine-moi un mouton."
On the other hand, this totally inappropriate French pun popped into my head.
6/24/12
Match the comic book covers
Research has shown that playing games helps keep the brain agile. Here are some old comic covers in a memory game to help keep your aging brain young.
Click on the backs of the comics to show the covers. If you get a pair of covers that pair stays uncovered. The game ends when you've uncovered all pairs. Try to uncover all pairs in as few tries as possible.
Click on the backs of the comics to show the covers. If you get a pair of covers that pair stays uncovered. The game ends when you've uncovered all pairs. Try to uncover all pairs in as few tries as possible.
6/15/12
"Is That All There Is?" by Joost Swarte and Kim Thompson
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| Joost Swarte (Photo credit: Andy Field (Hubmedia)) |
I first learned about the dutch artist with the amazing fine line when I found his work in Heavy Metal Magazine in the mid-80's. In style, the pictures looked like Herge's "clean line" Tintin, if a bit more art-deco styling. But in content the stories were equivalent to the underground comix of the 70's. Although he still wears plus-fours, Swarte's signature character Jopo de Pojo is practically an anti-Tintin: a black face instead of Tintin's pink one, and a backward-swooshing shark fin of hair contrary to the boy reporter's impertinent tuft. Jopo doesn't mind having a good time, and Tintin would be shocked at the sexual antics in Swarte's comics.One of the best things about re-discovering the stories in this new edition is Kim Thompson's careful translations. Kim Thompson is vice president and co-publisher of Seattle-based Fantagraphics Books, as well as an accomplished translator who speaks multiple languages. He gives some insight into his translations on his website.
"The lady is complaining that the fall has broken her just-purchased "ballen" (round Christmas tree ornaments) and her "piek" (an ornament for the top of the tree), but both words have a sexual connotation ("balls" and "dick" if you will), resulting in a Beavis and Butt-head huh-huh-huh effect."There are some other tricky translations, such as when a woman in a bar leaves a rude note to Jopo written in lipstick on the mirror, and another time when the character speaks only in rebus pictures. Here's another one that's just great for showing off Jopo's spike of hair.
5/6/12
Portland's Influences on The Simpsons
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| Milhouse Van Houten (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
It's barely one letter to go from N.E. Flanders to Ned Flanders. Other characters with street-based names: Milhouse Van Houten, Reverend Lovejoy, Bob Terwilliger aka Sideshow Bob, Kearney the bully, and Mayor Quimby. Mr. Burns' name is an amalgam of Montgomery Park (which used to be the Montgomery Ward offices) and Burnside street. Not mentioned in the article is Homer's half-brother Herb Powell (played by Danny DeVito). He could have been named after Powell boulevard.
Also, for some reason I always assumed that Principal Skinner is named after Skinner's Butte, a hill in Eugene, Oregon, close to the real-life Springfield.
Some other more tentative Portland influences on the Simpsons? The nuclear power plant where Homer works is based on the Trojan Nuclear plant (now closed) near St. Helens. I know that Matt Groening contributed artwork to a campaign mailer that was dedicated to shutting down the Trojan Nuclear plant. And, while many cities had afternoon cartoon shows hosted by clowns or other friendly (yet oddly scary) personalities, I'd venture to guess that Krusty the Klown was inspired by Rusty Nails, who hosted various children's television shows in the Portland, Oregon, television market from 1957 to 1972 - the exact time Groening would have been watching cartoons.
Beyond the Cape at Stumptown 2012
One of the panels at Stumptown Comics Fest was titled "Beyond the Cape: Genre Fiction in Comics." The panel was overly large so it was hard for the participants to have a true discussion of how superheroes contrast with their work, which was mostly horror-type comics, but it was a good opportunity to hear from a variety of creators about their own comics. Vera Brosgol, author of "Anya's Ghost," didn't say much during the session but I'd heard her talk earlier in the week (which I have yet to write up). I ended up buying copies of most of the other authors' works. Here's a quick rundown of each book.
Batton Lash's "Tales of Supernatural Law
" has a certain wry humor. The comic circles around a law office who defends the undead in law cases -- sort of like Ally McBeal meets the Old Cryptkeeper. One story arc, for example, has to do with a group of ghouls who are accused of exhuming for revenge a Frederic Wertham character called Dr. Forrest Bertrum. During a panel Lash mentioned that he based his script on lawyers simply because he was drawing for a local newspaper and there were a lot of law offices in the neighborhood. Lash also draws for Archie comics, and you can see a touch of this style in "Supernatural." He seems like a friendly guy.
In a similar vein Brandon Seifert & Lukas Ketner offer up "Witch Doctor, Vol. 1: Under the Knife
." Described as "House meets Fringe" it follows Dr. Vincent Morrow, a man versed in both physiognomy and the dark arts as he cures physical ailments via the spiritual realm. In the introductory story his patient's soul has acquired an immune syndrome disorder, becoming possessed by multiple demons, requiring that they turn him into a bubble boy for exorcism. The monsters are creative and thoroughly disgusting, while Morrow in his impeccable white suit provides a House-like narrative to the chaos.
I was sort of surprised that I ended up with two supernatural comics set in the Old West. "Strangeways the Thirsty" is a typical western tale of a feud between two towns, except one of them is inhabited by vampires. We follow the path of ex-soldier Seth Collins as he first meets the vampires, learns about them, and battles the creatures and their master. Author Matt Maxwell lets the story unwind casually, yet keeps the tension, always letting us know that the vampire is at the door.
Multiple people at Stumptown said I had to check out "The Sixth Gun, Vol. 1
" by Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt - so I did. The best way to describe it is as Wild West meets Lord of the Rings. The exposition starts with the resurrection of Confederate General Oleander Hume, a murderous army man during the US Civil War who was corrupted by six Satanic pistols. He's rescued from death by his four horsemen, each with one of the evil guns, shooting pestilence, fire, and one with the power to reanimate any of the dead souls killed by it. Only one man stands in the way of Hume, Drake Sinclair, and his motives are questionable. I like the way the story is told so that some plot lines are resolved while new ones develop. Volume one collects six issues of the comic, completing one story arc while ending on a cliffhanger. The fantastic elements of the story are inventive - a Soul Tree as an oracle, a pit that might be the entrance to Hell called The Maw, an incarnation of a dragon-like Thunderbird, and hints that the guns have been other weapons through the millennia. The action is fluid, although the only reservation that I have is at times the kinetic action scenes can be confusing.
While most of the other genre books were supernatural, "Shooters
" by Eric Trautmann, Brandon Jerwa and Steve Lieber is a brutal graphic novel about private military contractors. It tells the story of Chief Warrant Officer Terrence Glass who's deployed to Iraq, is injured, suffers PTSD, and is eventually hired by a private security firm. As a military contractor he encounters the same fighting he saw while in the Army, while also having the disorienting situation of meeting other private security firms. The story doesn't pull any punches, while Lieber's artwork is clean, functional and honest.
Batton Lash's "Tales of Supernatural Law
" has a certain wry humor. The comic circles around a law office who defends the undead in law cases -- sort of like Ally McBeal meets the Old Cryptkeeper. One story arc, for example, has to do with a group of ghouls who are accused of exhuming for revenge a Frederic Wertham character called Dr. Forrest Bertrum. During a panel Lash mentioned that he based his script on lawyers simply because he was drawing for a local newspaper and there were a lot of law offices in the neighborhood. Lash also draws for Archie comics, and you can see a touch of this style in "Supernatural." He seems like a friendly guy.In a similar vein Brandon Seifert & Lukas Ketner offer up "Witch Doctor, Vol. 1: Under the Knife
." Described as "House meets Fringe" it follows Dr. Vincent Morrow, a man versed in both physiognomy and the dark arts as he cures physical ailments via the spiritual realm. In the introductory story his patient's soul has acquired an immune syndrome disorder, becoming possessed by multiple demons, requiring that they turn him into a bubble boy for exorcism. The monsters are creative and thoroughly disgusting, while Morrow in his impeccable white suit provides a House-like narrative to the chaos. I was sort of surprised that I ended up with two supernatural comics set in the Old West. "Strangeways the Thirsty" is a typical western tale of a feud between two towns, except one of them is inhabited by vampires. We follow the path of ex-soldier Seth Collins as he first meets the vampires, learns about them, and battles the creatures and their master. Author Matt Maxwell lets the story unwind casually, yet keeps the tension, always letting us know that the vampire is at the door.
Multiple people at Stumptown said I had to check out "The Sixth Gun, Vol. 1
" by Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt - so I did. The best way to describe it is as Wild West meets Lord of the Rings. The exposition starts with the resurrection of Confederate General Oleander Hume, a murderous army man during the US Civil War who was corrupted by six Satanic pistols. He's rescued from death by his four horsemen, each with one of the evil guns, shooting pestilence, fire, and one with the power to reanimate any of the dead souls killed by it. Only one man stands in the way of Hume, Drake Sinclair, and his motives are questionable. I like the way the story is told so that some plot lines are resolved while new ones develop. Volume one collects six issues of the comic, completing one story arc while ending on a cliffhanger. The fantastic elements of the story are inventive - a Soul Tree as an oracle, a pit that might be the entrance to Hell called The Maw, an incarnation of a dragon-like Thunderbird, and hints that the guns have been other weapons through the millennia. The action is fluid, although the only reservation that I have is at times the kinetic action scenes can be confusing.While most of the other genre books were supernatural, "Shooters
" by Eric Trautmann, Brandon Jerwa and Steve Lieber is a brutal graphic novel about private military contractors. It tells the story of Chief Warrant Officer Terrence Glass who's deployed to Iraq, is injured, suffers PTSD, and is eventually hired by a private security firm. As a military contractor he encounters the same fighting he saw while in the Army, while also having the disorienting situation of meeting other private security firms. The story doesn't pull any punches, while Lieber's artwork is clean, functional and honest.
4/24/12
Joe Sacco wins Oregon Book Award for Graphic Literature
It was announced yesterday that Joe Sacco’s “Footnotes in Gaza” won the Oregon Book Award for Graphic Literature this year. It’s a great work, but honestly, all the nominees deserve recognition. “Footnotes in Gaza” is a serious documentary, as well as a stunning work of art and narrative, but how do you compare it with the other nominees? Each seems to be in its own category. For example, Sarah Oleksyk’s “Ivy” is a young adult reader, telling the story of a teenager who’s struggling to find her identity. Graham Annable’s “Book of Grickle” reminds me of a short story collection, with odd characters finding themselves in odder situations. Aidan Koch’s “The Whale” is more of a “graphic poem” than a “graphic novel.” It captures the melancholy and feelings of a woman after an accident takes the life of someone close to her. Meanwhile, Greg Rucka takes the city of Portland and transforms it into a noir landscape in his mystery thriller “Stumptown.”
Each book deserves to win, but it depends on what the judges were looking for. Out of all the books, “Stumptown” is the one that oozes “Oregon” from each page. “The Whale,” however, could benefit from a boost in distribution – it was only available at Powell’s Books, and there was only one copy left. The artwork in “Ivy” is great, and the work strikes a chord with some people. I’m sure that there are many younger readers who identify with the character and the story, so if the goal is to promote reading, or a newer artist, this would be the obvious choice. The “Book of Grickle” is perhaps the lightest work of all of these, but it’s so much fun that it’s hard to ignore it. And of course, Joe Sacco’s massive work is fully deserving of the honor.
Which brings me to the crux of the matter: how can you compare these works that span genres when the category is grouped by medium? Comic books are a medium, like film, or novels. So when you’re asked to nominate the five “best” comics how do you choose to evaluate “best?” Steve Duin makes a good comment about the “Graphic Literature” category that it’s a biennial award, which casts the net even wider. If anything, the categories should be made narrower, spreading the awards and the spotlight on the various genres of graphic literature that are produced in Oregon.
Speaking of spreading the spotlight, if you really want to see what’s happening right now in graphic literature (aka comic books) in Portland, I’d recommend that you check out the Stumptown Comics Fest. It’s a showcase of graphical narratives from local and national creators that’s a lot of fun, giving both creators and readers a chance to shine.
Each book deserves to win, but it depends on what the judges were looking for. Out of all the books, “Stumptown” is the one that oozes “Oregon” from each page. “The Whale,” however, could benefit from a boost in distribution – it was only available at Powell’s Books, and there was only one copy left. The artwork in “Ivy” is great, and the work strikes a chord with some people. I’m sure that there are many younger readers who identify with the character and the story, so if the goal is to promote reading, or a newer artist, this would be the obvious choice. The “Book of Grickle” is perhaps the lightest work of all of these, but it’s so much fun that it’s hard to ignore it. And of course, Joe Sacco’s massive work is fully deserving of the honor.
Which brings me to the crux of the matter: how can you compare these works that span genres when the category is grouped by medium? Comic books are a medium, like film, or novels. So when you’re asked to nominate the five “best” comics how do you choose to evaluate “best?” Steve Duin makes a good comment about the “Graphic Literature” category that it’s a biennial award, which casts the net even wider. If anything, the categories should be made narrower, spreading the awards and the spotlight on the various genres of graphic literature that are produced in Oregon.
Speaking of spreading the spotlight, if you really want to see what’s happening right now in graphic literature (aka comic books) in Portland, I’d recommend that you check out the Stumptown Comics Fest. It’s a showcase of graphical narratives from local and national creators that’s a lot of fun, giving both creators and readers a chance to shine.
4/17/12
"Footnotes in Gaza" by Joe Sacco
"History is a weapon. History ideally strives for objectivity above the battle....But historians, like everyone else, are prisoners of their own experience and their own times....The selection of facts from the past involves an interpretation, a sense of priorities, a sense of values as to what matters." - Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
"History is written by the victors" - Attributed to Winston Churchill
Joe Sacco’s "Footnotes in Gaza" is a massive work on a footnote in history. It’s massive both in size, over 400 pages long, and in scope, attempting to bring a narrative to a series of conflicts in the murky Middle East that span the past seventy years. His focus is on a single bloody event in 1956 when the Israeli army moved into the Gaza strip, ostensibly looking for instigators in the towns of Khan Younis and Rafah, and eventually killing at least 386 Palestinian refugees, possibly more. The story is told with painstaking care, peeling back each level as if it were sunburned skin, picking out the details, the facts, the myths, the emotions, and compiling it into a "comic book."
Which also point out the massive effort behind the work. Sacco’s commitment to his book is evident in the fine print on each page. On the first page he’s signed it "J. Sacco 3.05". The final page of artwork is signed "4.09." Over four years spent drawing each page, not to mention the time invested researching the subject in libraries and in the field in 2002 and 2003.
To unwind this complex story Sacco has to bring context to so many things: the landscape, political forces over time, key actors in events, and even to address why so many eyewitnesses have unreliable accounts.
"This is the Gaza Strip, 40km long by no more than 12 km wide, one of the most densely populated places on the planet. In 2002-3 when I visited, 1.3 million Palestinians lived on about 70 percent of the land. The rest was the domain of 7,500 Jewish settlers who set up their enclaves after Israel seized Gaza in 1967 and the IDF soldiers who protected them."
The key actors can be divided into categories. There are those recognized by history, such as Moshe Dayan, Egypt’s president Jemal Abder Nasser, as well as the countries of England, France, Russia and the US. Then there are those who were alive during the incidents of 1956, some participating in Sacco’s project, some long gone or missing who have left only artifacts. And finally there are the characters from Sacco’s present - himself, his guide Abed, the aging mutarad fighter Khaled, a Palestinian resident of Gaza named Ashraf, and the endless stream of the Palestinian refugees who form a sort of Greek chorus, echoing the events we see as they cross the stage.
Gaza has always been a bit hazy in my mind. I knew, in general, that it was in the Middle East and was involved in the Palestinian / Israeli conflicts. But I never understood how it came to be, or what life was like for the refugees living in the strip. The most effect it had on my life was when the video group that I work with did a documentary on Rachel Corrie, an NGO representative who was killed while protesting the destruction of homes in Gaza. Corrie achieves a chapter in "Footnotes in Gaza," not because death in Gaza is unusual, but the death of an American in Gaza brings more attention.
Sacco painstakingly renders key events that made Gaza what it is today: the 1948 declaration of independence by Israel, the refugees pouring into Gaza, the evolution over time from tents to shacks to towns, the institutionalization of this status. He explores the conflicts and machinations between Israel trying to expand and enforce its borders, Egypt trying to modernize and create a united Arab state, and the creation of the Fedayeen fighters of the 1950’s, as well as more current events of the 80s, 90s and 21st century. Sacco doesn’t hesitate to draw the dead and dying in his work, showing the suffering without embellishing it. But he has also put human faces to events that would otherwise be bloodless, nameless events - "incursions", "shootings", "conflict."
I found a reviewer on Amazon who pointed out a weakness that some might find in "Footnotes in Gaza." "FOOTNOTES' major drawback is its one-sidedness. Sacco provides the official Israeli accounts of the Rafah incident and the home demolitions, but these appear--ironically--as a footnote, relegated to the back of the book. Entirely absent are first-person narratives from Israelis who were there. Since the Israeli documents paint a very different picture of what happened, such narratives would have added credibility either by telling a conflicting side of the story or by confirming the Palestinian testimonies. They would have also allowed readers to glean something about why these shootings happened."
The work that this most reminds me of is Crumb’s "Book of Genesis." Not just because of the content - set in the holy land, full of conflict. But the massive size of this work, and the attention to detail, the composition of the frames. It’s a documentary rendered as graphic literature. The cartooning style makes "Footnotes in Gaza" much more approachable, and also helps to bring faces and places to history, to a story that has always been confused in my mind.
Sacco has a skill for capturing faces without making them stereotypes or caricature. Each player in Gaza is identifiable, and shows their humanity in traits such as the way they hold their mouths, a mole or missing teeth, a shock of hair pushed to one side. I also liked the way that Sacco made the hands so expressive -showing disgust, frustration, anger, or even power. When drawing himself he seems to be slightly smaller with opaque round glasses. He’s the narrator who stays out of the way, but not enough to fool us into thinking he’s invisible. Instead he’s there to bring context to the story - much like a TV reporter appears in a news story.
This is perhaps the most interesting part of "Footnotes in Gaza," especially considering the quote by Arthur Schlesinger Jr. and the one frequently attributed to Winston Churchill. The Palestinian conflict has gone on so long that’s simultaneously happening, and forgotten history. Sacco explains to the people as he interviews them that he’s interested in the events of 1956. In one scene a father shows what the destruction of housing and fighting in the Gaza strip is doing to his family: bullet holes in the wall, tanks rumble by, the kids are afraid to use the bathroom that’s on the outer wall of the house. "Every day here is ’56!" says the man, disgusted by the situation. Yet, if history is a weapon, this book, "Footnotes in Gaza," is Sacco’s way to bring freedom to the way he sees the Palestinian story, a way to provide a context, a sense of values as to what matters: seeing the Palestinian refugees as people, and treating them as people deserve to be treated.
Footnotes in Gaza: A Graphic Novel
by Joe Sacco has been nominated for an Oregon Book Award in the category of best "Graphic Literature." In February of this year it was announced that the book is also slated to be made into a movie. Joe Sacco doesn't appear to have a website, nor is he on twitter.
"History is written by the victors" - Attributed to Winston Churchill
Joe Sacco’s "Footnotes in Gaza" is a massive work on a footnote in history. It’s massive both in size, over 400 pages long, and in scope, attempting to bring a narrative to a series of conflicts in the murky Middle East that span the past seventy years. His focus is on a single bloody event in 1956 when the Israeli army moved into the Gaza strip, ostensibly looking for instigators in the towns of Khan Younis and Rafah, and eventually killing at least 386 Palestinian refugees, possibly more. The story is told with painstaking care, peeling back each level as if it were sunburned skin, picking out the details, the facts, the myths, the emotions, and compiling it into a "comic book."
Which also point out the massive effort behind the work. Sacco’s commitment to his book is evident in the fine print on each page. On the first page he’s signed it "J. Sacco 3.05". The final page of artwork is signed "4.09." Over four years spent drawing each page, not to mention the time invested researching the subject in libraries and in the field in 2002 and 2003.
To unwind this complex story Sacco has to bring context to so many things: the landscape, political forces over time, key actors in events, and even to address why so many eyewitnesses have unreliable accounts.
"This is the Gaza Strip, 40km long by no more than 12 km wide, one of the most densely populated places on the planet. In 2002-3 when I visited, 1.3 million Palestinians lived on about 70 percent of the land. The rest was the domain of 7,500 Jewish settlers who set up their enclaves after Israel seized Gaza in 1967 and the IDF soldiers who protected them."
The key actors can be divided into categories. There are those recognized by history, such as Moshe Dayan, Egypt’s president Jemal Abder Nasser, as well as the countries of England, France, Russia and the US. Then there are those who were alive during the incidents of 1956, some participating in Sacco’s project, some long gone or missing who have left only artifacts. And finally there are the characters from Sacco’s present - himself, his guide Abed, the aging mutarad fighter Khaled, a Palestinian resident of Gaza named Ashraf, and the endless stream of the Palestinian refugees who form a sort of Greek chorus, echoing the events we see as they cross the stage.
Sacco painstakingly renders key events that made Gaza what it is today: the 1948 declaration of independence by Israel, the refugees pouring into Gaza, the evolution over time from tents to shacks to towns, the institutionalization of this status. He explores the conflicts and machinations between Israel trying to expand and enforce its borders, Egypt trying to modernize and create a united Arab state, and the creation of the Fedayeen fighters of the 1950’s, as well as more current events of the 80s, 90s and 21st century. Sacco doesn’t hesitate to draw the dead and dying in his work, showing the suffering without embellishing it. But he has also put human faces to events that would otherwise be bloodless, nameless events - "incursions", "shootings", "conflict."
I found a reviewer on Amazon who pointed out a weakness that some might find in "Footnotes in Gaza." "FOOTNOTES' major drawback is its one-sidedness. Sacco provides the official Israeli accounts of the Rafah incident and the home demolitions, but these appear--ironically--as a footnote, relegated to the back of the book. Entirely absent are first-person narratives from Israelis who were there. Since the Israeli documents paint a very different picture of what happened, such narratives would have added credibility either by telling a conflicting side of the story or by confirming the Palestinian testimonies. They would have also allowed readers to glean something about why these shootings happened."
The work that this most reminds me of is Crumb’s "Book of Genesis." Not just because of the content - set in the holy land, full of conflict. But the massive size of this work, and the attention to detail, the composition of the frames. It’s a documentary rendered as graphic literature. The cartooning style makes "Footnotes in Gaza" much more approachable, and also helps to bring faces and places to history, to a story that has always been confused in my mind.
Sacco has a skill for capturing faces without making them stereotypes or caricature. Each player in Gaza is identifiable, and shows their humanity in traits such as the way they hold their mouths, a mole or missing teeth, a shock of hair pushed to one side. I also liked the way that Sacco made the hands so expressive -showing disgust, frustration, anger, or even power. When drawing himself he seems to be slightly smaller with opaque round glasses. He’s the narrator who stays out of the way, but not enough to fool us into thinking he’s invisible. Instead he’s there to bring context to the story - much like a TV reporter appears in a news story.
Footnotes in Gaza: A Graphic Novel
by Joe Sacco has been nominated for an Oregon Book Award in the category of best "Graphic Literature." In February of this year it was announced that the book is also slated to be made into a movie. Joe Sacco doesn't appear to have a website, nor is he on twitter.
4/10/12
Springfield = Portland? Sort of...
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| The Simpsons when made their first TV appearance on The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
In an interview with the Smithsonian magazine Groening finally comes clean:
Springfield was named after Springfield, Oregon. The only reason is that when I was a kid, the TV show “Father Knows Best” took place in the town of Springfield, and I was thrilled because I imagined that it was the town next to Portland, my hometown. When I grew up, I realized it was just a fictitious name. I also figured out that Springfield was one of the most common names for a city in the U.S. In anticipation of the success of the show, I thought, “This will be cool; everyone will think it’s their Springfield.” And they do.Ok, I led you astray. But the names of a lot of the characters were inspired by Portland. Kearney, Terwilliger, Flanders, even Mr. Burns(side) are street names in Portland, Oregon.
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