Sally here with Aline Kominsky-Crumb, Hillary Chute, Roz Chast, Jennifer Camper, and many more!
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Hillary Chute takes a look at comics in black and white for The New York Times, reviewing Eleanor Davis‘ most recent work, Why Art?, and John Porcellino’s From Lone Mountain, concluding with a mention of Jennifer Camper.
Hillary Chute suggests that there is nothing simple about these comics, although their appearance may lead you to believe otherwise. About Eleanor Davis’ book she writes:
“Eccentric and visually inventive, answering all the many questions it raises, “Why Art?” is about the power that comes from creating. The art that we mold with our own hands shows us how to be strong; it shows us how to live.“
Chute notes the “zine-style” display of Porcellino’s work, and the quiet power behind his lyrical and sweet comics. She ties Davis and Porcellino to Jennifer Camper on the basis of their shared dedication to “the punk-inspired world of self-publishing” and references a new comic by Camper that appears in the April/May issue of The Believer.
“Camper’s piece is devastatingly timeless and current at once. It includes hard-to-look-at scenes of assault, rendered in a black and white much less airy than either Porcellino’s or Davis’s. The discomfort it produces is its strength — another potent answer to the question “why art?”“
I highly recommend both Davis and Porcellino’s new books – and you can get a copy of The Believer HERE.
Here’s the first page of a comic from 2003 by Jennifer Camper – you can read the rest HERE.
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The Gothamist is running a series called Sketchy Interviews – visual interviews with cartoonists, illustrators, and graphic artists currently working in NYC. First up is Roz Chast! As you might guess, her answers to the interview questions are both funny and personal. See them all HERE.
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The book (above) is out and Aline Kominsky-Crumb has been on tour and is FINALLY getting a lot of press and hype, and the recognition that she deserves! Called “the whiny grandmother of tell-all comics” by CBC Radio, she has been long-overlooked and even hated by fans of her husband, Robert Crumb. The recent Drawn & Quarterly reissue of her 1990’s collection – expanded to include 40 pages of new work, and sporting the hefty title Love That Bunch: Food, Sex, Death, Pain, Romance, Joy – is her only solo work in print.
The Montreal Gazette writes:
“A thread connecting all of Kominsky-Crumb’s work, and a quality especially evident in Love That Bunch, is the dynamic tension between self-deprecation and self-assurance. Yes, she’s hard on herself, but it takes real strength to reveal so much.
“That was one of my arguments with the early feminists — that to learn to reveal your weaknesses and ugliness, you have to feel OK about yourself,” she said. “They thought I was being a poor role model. They didn’t understand that it’s a gift to other people, to allow them to get rid of it and live with it better. Even now, some people will say ‘Why do you draw yourself so ugly? Do you really feel that bad about yourself?’ I say: ‘Not really, but I’ve been there and I’ve lived through those feelings. Everybody does sometimes.’ I feel confident enough to expose that about myself and be willing to live with the results of it.” “
Read the rest of the article HERE.
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Weekend Brunch
- The Comics Journal is running another A Cartoonist’s Diary, this time with Fiona Smyth sharing a week in her life – check it out HERE.
- John Seven reviews Jessica Campbell‘s new comic – XTC69 – (out from Koyama Press in a week!) for The Comics Beat – read the review HERE.
- Here’s a nice check in with Pénélope Bagieu, whose recent book Brazen tells the stories of dozens of female rebels and heroes – on MSN News.
- Rob Kirby reviews Love That Bunch – the deluxe hardcover reissue of Aline Kominsky-Crumb‘s original 1990 comic – on The Comics Journal.
- San Francisco Magazine has a list of famous female creators (of comics, film, and TV) who are the direct “Nasty Gal” decedents of Aline Kominsky-Crumb – HERE.
- Hillary Brown interviews Vera Brosgol, during which they discuss Brosgol’s new comic – Be Prepared – for Paste Magazine.
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Suzy and Cecil – 5-4-2018 – by Sally Ingraham