Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Adrian Tomine's Scenes From An Impending Marriage: A Graphically Speaking Review
Words: Seth Kushner
If you’re like me, a man who spent an inordinate amount of time involved with the planning of your wedding, then Adrian Tomine’s new book, Scenes From An Impending Marriage
will feel painfully familiar.
will feel painfully familiar. Tomine casts himself and his wife-to-be in short, personal vignettes leading up to their wedding day. Each begins with a title panel; “Guest List,” “Invitation,” “D.J.,” “Florist,” etc. All topics covered with Tomine’s sharp eye for detail and nuance.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Sophie Crumb: Evolution of a Crazy Artist: A Graphically Speaking Review
Words: Jared Gniewek
I’m going to admit to something. It’s not that bad but it’s a little embarrassing. I used to fantasize that I was part of the Crumb family. I was 16 and getting into Robert Crumb's books and I just loved his and Aline Kominsky-Crumb's Dirty Laundry so much that I felt like I was in it, just outside of every panel. I guess that's a testament to the quality and inclusiveness of their style on that one. I felt like I could help Robert with some yard work, inspect Aline’s ass for firmness after a vigorous bike ride, and help little Sophie with her coloring. Being in that family would be awesome! The most fun, though would be creating alongside these talented and passionate artists. Being from a family of limited creativity offers challenges I won’t bore you with but let it be said that my old man (actually the one creative in the family at the time with some really terrific photographs under his belt) wasn’t sold on me becoming a writer and seeing that so far, at 35 years of age, I’ve made a little over ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS plying my trade, we can see he was totally wrong.
In any case, if I come across as a bit jealous of Sophie Crumb, it’s because I am. I have family envy, I’ll admit it. And I’m sure it’s not all glitz and glamour but to be a talented child of two very talented artists who not only support but catalogue and dote on the development of her work is an enviable place to be for those of us that have had to struggle with unsupportive families. Talent is only a small part of cartooning and the fact that they helped her put in the work it takes to learn a craft is the greatest gift a parent can give their child.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Frank Miller Part 2: On Pastiche, Directing and the Future
Words: Christopher Irving
Pictures: Seth Kushner
IRVING: What sparked that love to return to superheroes?
MILLER: I loved them.
IRVING: Was it an inciting incident that made you realize that?
MILLER: I wish I could give you some good copy here, but I can’t. I simply love superheroes, and have my entire life.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Frank Miller Part 1: Dames, Dark Knights, Devils, and Heroes
Pictures: Seth Kushner
A dead cat greets me at the door to Frank Miller’s studio, a long-haired white feline standing majestically in his living room, flanked by a bookshelf populated with DVDs.
A dead cat greets me at the door to Frank Miller’s studio, a long-haired white feline standing majestically in his living room, flanked by a bookshelf populated with DVDs.
I look away for a minute, and it is gone.
Miller sits behind the drawing table in his studio, sporting his trademark black fedora and a black pinstripe blazer over a black t-shirt, his hawkish profile making him look like a modern-day Shadow. His studio is lined with metal display cases bearing everything from old comics memorabilia to souvenirs from his movies—Sin City, 300, and The Spirit. Leonidas’ shield lays on a worktable against the far wall, and Frank points my gaze to the top of one shelf, where Miho’s sword sits in its scabbard.
Back at his desk, the lanky artist lights up a cigarette and invites me to shut the door and cut my recorder on. To refer to Frank Miller as just a cartoonist or personality would be an understatement: where most artists have one defining period in a long career, Miller has had about three or four, switching styles, and even approaches, in a ballsy and always successful way. Miller has not only redefined comic book genres by combining them in a pastiche-fashion with the hard-boiled world of the Mike Hammers and Sam Spades, but also redefined the general perception of comics through successful film adaptations of key works Sin City and 300.
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