Hi. Today on the site we have Paul Tumey discussing the recent (and excellent) Basil Wolverton book from parent corporation Fantagraphics, and a little more, too.
This volume, the first of two, or perhaps three, in an art-filled biography, covers Wolverton’s life from birth and childhood up to the first few years of Spacehawk and the first shakings of Powerhouse Pepper, landmarks in Wolverton’s career and features that will be familiar to any fan. The book is roughly eighty-percent art and twenty-percent text. Sadowski’s well-written, densely detailed narrative is organized into chapters of illustrated biography separated by generous chunks of “art pages,” which have their notes. This is a thoughtful and successful design.
One of the interesting things about Sadowski’s books is that he manages to find a way to showcase reprints of carefully selected and restored comic art without sacrificing detailed narrative and notes. In his 2009 book, Supermen! The First Wave of Comic Book Heroes 1936-1941 (which includes some Wolverton comics), Sadowski hit upon the scheme of presenting his selected stories up front as a thick portfolio, with a second section of detailed commentary on the stories and their contexts in the back. One can read these books just for the comics, or for the full experience offered. It works well both ways.
Charlie Hebdo: Curators Glenn Lowry and Anne Pasternak on NPR about the art and the attack.
I'm gonna guess that Ta-Nehisi Coates, who I usually enjoy, is not responsible for the regrettable headline for this short little enthusiasm burst about Matt Fraction and diversity in superhero comics.
Interesting piece in Art in America about "appropriation", this time involving two very cartoon-influenced artists. I know both artists involved, and it's sorta sad but also, if you read between the lines, very telling about today's market and, if I was gonna take it further, what might be called social media-driven art. But that's another story.
And hey, Congo or no Congo, here's a new auction record set for original comic art with this Tintin piece.
