How to Survive in the North
In his autobiography, Chronicles: Volume One, Bob Dylan née Zimmerman writes about visiting the New York Public Library as a recent émigré to that city. While there he receives a vision: “the full complexity of human nature … the godawful … Continue reading
Soft City
In 1973, Terje Brofors, alias Hariton Pushwagner (b. 1940) sat in a window in Chelsea, London, drawing as if possessed. After several years living on the street, drawing for food and haunted by thoughts of suicide, he had found a … Continue reading
The Amazing “True” Story of a Teenage Single Mom
Originally published in 1998, Katherine Arnoldi’s The Amazing “True” Story of a Teenage Single Mom is packaged and blurbed in a manner that reflects the “Wham! Pow! Comics Aren’t For Kids Anymore” narrative that still afflicted comics at the time. The … Continue reading
Impatience and Lapsos
Inés Estrada is a 26-year-old Mexican cartoonist currently living in the USA. According to her blog , she makes a living “making whatever the fuck I want,” and that includes self-publishing Impatience, a beautifully printed and designed book. The cover … Continue reading
Krazy: George Herriman, A Life in Black and White
Of all the cartoonists in our starry firmament, Herriman is undoubtedly the one who has received the most attention over the decades. By itself, the introductory matter in the volumes of the Fantagraphics collection of the complete Sunday pages, by … Continue reading
More Heroes Of The Comics
The way Drew Friedman bridges the gap between portraiture and caricature is not unlike a skilled cartoonist working in a naturalistic style who draws a car that bends when going around a turn. It’s not “realistic” in the strictest sense … Continue reading
Perfect Hair
You’re at a party and someone is telling you all about their new job, new significant other, new something. You’re trying to listen, but all you can concentrate on is making eye contact, like you’ve been taught. Don’t look over … Continue reading
