Word: comix
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...many comix artists have turned into epic-makers it may be a trend. Several weeks ago TIME.comix reviewed the first volume (out of twelve) of an adaptation of Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past." Before that, Jason Lutes' first of three volumes on Weimar Berlin ("Berlin: City of Stones") made our best-of-2000 list. Now add to that the first of a seven-volume retelling of western civilization's original epic, the fall of Troy, in Eric Shanower's "Age of Bronze...
...born in Scotland, lately transplanted to Australia, earned his reputation among the comixcenti in the late 1980s for his semi-autobiographical works (collected last year as "Alec: The King Canute Crowd"). His mainstream success came when he drew "From Hell," the twelve part Jack-the-Ripper series by "superstar" comix-writer Alan Moore, the movie of which stars Johnny Depp and has a September release date...
...subjects like the history of the industry during the '80s "boom-years," the difference between craft and art, and the challenges of remaining an Artist in such an historically disposable medium. Thus it bounces from essay, to history, to criticism, to autobiography in a way I haven't seen comix try before...
...Campbell does better on some subjects than others. The history of the industry will leave more casual comix readers a bit confused, particularly if they live outside the U.K. But the parts of the book you could call "criticism," including a history of the graphic novel, are refreshingly opinionated. In between Campbell includes personal anecdotes of things both vastly important (marriage, birth) or utterly trivial, but memorable for their own sake (watermelon-sized holes in the curtains). Ultimately it reads with the voice of a friend sitting at the bar after his fifth pint, though admittedly this has its rambling...
...instructional book, "Alec: How to be an Artist," applies to only one person: Eddie Campbell. Campbell cops to this right in the title, with that "Alec" part. Other artists will do better by taking the book's combination of memoir and essay as an example of comix' mostly untested non-fiction possibilities. The rest of us casual readers will treat the book like a smorgasbord, and take away those very nice parts that appeal most...