It's been a long few days. On the site:
Eleanor Davis interviews Jillian Tamaki:
ED: What story of yours have you found people respond to the most strongly? And what was your response to their response?
JT: Well, obviously the strongest reaction I have had to A Book has been This One Summer, which is a collaboration. [This One Summer, by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki, was the ALA’s most challenged book of 2016 – ED]. It’s interesting, for the interviews for Boundless thus far, people have wanted to discuss “The ClairFree System.” Which is slightly surprising.
ED: I experience the clearest emotional arc reading it. Not intellectual clarity, but emotional, with the conditional intimacy of the final moment.
JT: I’m trying to think of their “reaction” though. I feel like they want to hear me talk about it. It feels very mysterious and strange to them, I guess? It’s not a typical image-text pairing. I mean, it’s about The Economy, which I think about constantly.
ED: I read that comic as both a feminist critique, and defense, of Capitalism. I LOVED it, obviously.
JT: I had forgotten: that story was sparked by learning that some of my friends in my hometown had gotten into what they called a “Skin cult.” Which is maybe a pyramid scheme? You made commissions off of selling to your friends. But on the other hand, it just seemed like Mary Kay or Avon for the millennial set. And it was bizarre because I was like, oh, I remember Avon and these suburban selling-parties when I was a kid. But now I’m on the flip, the adult, and the moms needed CASH.
Elsewhere in comics-land:
Geoffrey Hayes, cartoonist, illustrator, and brother/collaborator of Rory Hayes has passed away.
Last week Drawn & Quarterly announced a book by the cartoonist Berliac. There was an immediate reaction online, as cartoonists and readers pointed to public statements about transgender people made by the cartoonist, some aggressively aimed at artist and TCJ-contributor Sarah Horrocks, who unpacked her interactions and thoughts on Twitter. After two days of research and thinking, D&Q, which like many small publishers, is based on fairly intimate relationships with its authors, no longer felt it could support Berliac given his behavior. The company's statement is here. Berliac's statement is on Facebook.
The New York Times Magazine this week was given over to cartoonists, most notably David Mazzucchelli, Sammy Harkham and Kevin Huizenga, who drew versions of stories taken from the Metro Desk of the paper.
And finally, Robert Storr writes about Raymond Pettibon at NYRB.
