Winshluss: Pinocchio

The book is published in French but mostly without text, the story told in descriptive panels in that classic Bandes Dessinées style intermixed with with full page and half page panels that also form part of the narrative. The only parts of the book with words are a few sections in black and white drawn in a loose sketchy style that nicely juxtaposes with the colour artwork that makes up the main body of the book. These black and white passages involve Jimmy the Cricket who has taken up home in Pinocchio’s head, and with my bad french I managed to just about understand what was going on, although you could easily understand the story with little or no french (like me).

The majority of the book is colour and wordless. Winshluss draws and paints in several mediums and there are several full page panels that I was amazed by. The coloring has that desaturated nostalgic feel that perfectly matches his drawing style.

Winshluss: Pinocchio

Winshluss: Pinocchio

The lame fox and blind cat from the original Carlo Collodi Pinocchio adventures become a smack-head and blind beggar, Monstro the great whale becomes a polluted toxic mutant fish destroying a Titanic style liner complete with white bearded captain and string ensemble who not only carry on playing when the ship goes down, but as they are being dissolved by the acidic bile in the stomach of the toxic fish.

Winshluss also makes several nods to Disney; Snow White and the seven dwarfs make an appearance, the dwarfs are a gruesome set of perverts and their involvement in Geppetto’s comeuppance is particularly twisted. There is even a film noir element, a hard boiled cop with a head like an Easter island statue who tracks down Geppetto and the seven perverted dwarfs. The book is certainly dark, but full of humor.

Pinocchio himself is a mute robot-boy, created by Geppetto to be a war machine who he initially tries to sell to the military. Pinocchio goes wandering after short circuiting while Jimmy the Cricket enters his robot brain. Pinocchio tumbles through this story, staying resolutely mute while the tale unfolds around him.

Winshluss: Pinocchio

Winshluss: Pinocchio

Vincent Paronnaud is also credited as co-writer and co-director with Marjane Satrapi on the film adaptation of her comic series Persépolis. What a talented chap.

You can see more artwork at a larger size here at http://www.bdgest.com.

op

Related posts:

1. Jason Lutes: Jar Of Fools
2. David Mazzucchelli: Asterios Polyp
3. Dan Drakeford: Writer, illustrator & cartoonist

What many people don’t seem to realise with regards to science fiction is that it encompasses a whole host of literary genres.  It’s not all Space ships and battles, in fact the majority of science fiction I read and enjoy isn’t the classic “Space Opera”.

I generally stick to science fiction from 1950’s to 1980’s and especially what appears to be the golden years from the late 50’s to the middle 70’s.  This includes works from authors such as Alfred Bester, Arthur C Clarke, Brian W Aldiss, Ray Bradbury, Philip K Dick (to name a few).

There have been so many science fiction books written, that I am sure I won’t need to look at another genre for the rest of my life, and I still won’t get through half of the “good” books out there.  Authors such as Philip K Dick had written over 50 novels in his short life, not to mention his numerous short stories and novellas.  It’s quite amazing how influential this one Author is when it comes to science fiction being translated into film.  Bladerunner, Total recall, Minority Report, Paycheck, A Scanner Darkely are just a few examples of films directly based on his works.  I’d have to say that Philip K Dick is quite possibly one of my all time favourite authors.

There are a few novels that really stands out for me, the ones that seem to impact directly on my life.  These would have to be:

• Tiger Tiger by Alfred Bester
• None Stop by Brian W Aldiss
• Flow my tears the Policeman said by Philip K Dick
• Shockwave rider by John Brunner
• Neuromancer by William Gibson

There are a whole host of other books that I could have listed, but for some reason the ones above really did something for me.

For those who have a natural aversion to science fiction I’d suggest taking the plunge and giving it a go.  It’s not all about deep space and robots, a lot of it is about the human condition and are classic stories set in a future or other world place.  Science Fiction as a genre give the author a freedom to do as they please, to be as creative and imaginative as they like and to explore stories, themes and ideas in a way that is limited with “straight” fiction.

Sometimes I wish the genre science fiction hadn’t been created, and that these great authors were respected for writing alone with out the bias of the preconception that some have of the genre label.

So, I urge one and all to go out and buy a science fiction book – go to a second hand book shop, or a car boot, and get a book! Even if you hate it the cover art is worth it!

gh

No related posts.

From the Blast Theory website:

Blast Theory is renowned internationally as one of the most adventurous artists’ groups using interactive media, creating groundbreaking new forms of performance and interactive art that mixes audiences across the internet, live performance and digital broadcasting.

Anyhow, I was invited along to the ‘premier’ of the documentation of their latest work Ulrike and Eamon Compliant at Blast Theory’s quite swanky studios just outside Brighton. Having not experienced Ulrike and Eamon Compliant firsthand I can’t comment on it, but the short film and supporting book documenting the work was enough to make me want to experience it for myself. The wine was nice too.

The book is beautifully designed by John Hunter, simple two column grid with a swiss flavour. I particularly like the cover, no messing about:

Blast Theory

To read all about Ulrike and Eamon Compliant go here:

The DVD and book I am told should be on sale from the blast theory website soon – also check their website for information on upcoming projects.

op

Related posts:

1. The Glenkiln Sculptures

So, I was in Dave’s Comics, Brighton, a Saturday afternoon, wanting a comic book fix. 2000 AD re-issues are just not doing it for me. I bought Asterios Polyp on the recommendation of the shopkeeper and on the brief flick through I gave it – and also, the nice hardback copy abated my ‘nice book’ addiction. It was only on getting home and giving it a proper inspection that I realised I was familiar with the author/artist. But I am crap with names. And facts.

Asterios Polyp, the protagonist, is a fifty-ish ‘paper’ architect – belligerent, arrogant, won lots of awards, recognised, but not one of his designs have ever been built. Already I liked Asterios, but saw the flaws, what I was supposed to think. His story is ‘a journey of discovery’, can’t put it in any other way – he is brought down, escapes, goes on a journey, discovers himself, meets interesting characters along the way and finds some sort of redemption. Sounds pretty average and run of the mill but this is anything but and so much more. Mazzucchelli manages to comment on relationships, compatibility, art theory, aesthetics all within his narrative and combines these themes with some very off the wall characters.

The artwork, so different to City of Glass, is itself subverted to become part of the narrative, different styles denoting mood, illustrating compatibility. The way he has combined his lettering, colour and page composition, all coming together in a way that communicates vast amounts on a single page, seems such a natural part of the evolution of comic books (sorry, Graphic Novels). Every character, however minor, had their own stylistically different lettering reminding me of Asterix books of my youth, the Goths with their blackletter style lettering, Egyptians talking in hieroglyphs. But Mazzucchelli uses this approach, spins and multiplies it to create a quite unique vision.

I bought a copy for my brother for his thirty eighth birthday. It was the last one in the shop. Must be good then.

Buy it here

Read an 2000 interview with David Mazzucchelli

op

Related posts:

1. Jason Lutes: Jar Of Fools

Detail in Typography… is one of the more recent publications by Hyphen Press, the imprint set up by Robin Kinross; typographer, author & critic. Published for the first time in English last year (2008), Detail in Typography… was first published in Germany Switzerland in 2005 and it’s translation to English has given this slim book a much deserved wider audience.

Detail in Typography… is not just a guide to making clear & legible text. Hochuli also discusses what makes an aesthetically pleasing layout, and why layouts can still appear dull even after all the ‘rules’ have been strictly adhered to.

Covering all the elements which make up a column of text the book is split into the following chapters: The reading process, The letter, The word, The line, Line spacing & the column and The qualities of type. This segregation gives Detail in Typography… a clear and defined structure, reflecting the principles of the subject matter perfectly. Jost Hochuli also stresses that Detail in Typography… should not be regarded as infallible. Hochuli counts on “intelligent designers finding appropriate solutions”.

In the words of the author in his introduction:

“While macrotypography -  the typographic layout – is concerned with the format of the printed matter, with the size and position of the columns of type and illustrations, with the organization of the hierarchy of headings, subheadings and captions, detail typography is concerned with the individual components – letters, letterspacing, words, wordspacing, lines and linespacing, columns of text. These are the components that graphic or typographic designers like to neglect, as they fall outside the area that is normally regarded as ‘creative’…

…There are many matters of detail typography which one can, in good conscience, resolve differently. The author would certainly not want this book to be regarded as an infallible catechism: rather, he counts on intelligent designers, who, in the spirit of this book, finds appropriate solutions to the problems that arise in a given context, even though not all potential problems are dealt with in this text”

Typography is happily no longer an esoteric art to the average designer and over the last few years there have been a plethora of typography books arriving on the market as the art of typography becomes increasingly accessible: we all now have the possibility of access to thousands of fonts, the expensive cumbersome metal type having made its way onto the desktop computer. With typography being such a huge subject Hochuli’s classification and definition of ‘micro typography’ (a term Hochuli first coined in 1987) makes Detail in Typography… another welcome addition to the range of useful and informative books on the subject of type.

For the established designer Detail in Typography… is a great refresher, a reminder of how concise composition can reside in the detail. For the student or the designer just starting out and wanting reference for typography I would say Detail in Typography… is essential – understand and appreciate ‘micro typography’ and students of design will have a solid foundation for dealing with all things type and type related.

As with all Hyphen books Detail in Typography… is beautifully designed. The red and black colour scheme is striking and effective, the inside covers of solid red a nice touch. Hochuli always backs up his observations and comments with detailed illustrations and examples. Not only a useful text on type, a beautiful book too.

For anyone interested in further reading on typography I would recommend the following two books:

For a contextual look at the history of type I would recommend Modern Typography: an essay in critical history by Robin Kinross. Although currently out of print a re-print is expected soon . From the books back cover, a quote from Matthew Carter, Eye magazine;

“As a brief history of typography it is difficult to think how it could be better.”

I could not put it any better myself. The cover has also got an uncoated finish in bright yellow, although impractical and soon was covered by my newsprint fingerprints, looks amazing.

Before this post becomes a Hyphen press love-in I would also recommend The Elements of Typographic Style by Richard Bringhurst for a wider look on the practical application of type. Often quoted as the ‘bible of typography’. But not by me.

op

No related posts.

Jar of Fools follows an alcohol addled, broken-hearted magician as he comes to terms with the end of a relationship and the unexpected suicide of his escape-artist brother. His journey is framed by the increasing senility of his mentor and the attempts of a low life con-artist to persuade the magician to educate his young daughter in the ways of magic.

A sense of detachment, of being out of time saturates this book; the magician’s acknowledgment that he is no longer relevant and the literal underworld the characters inhabit support this feeling. The magician’s own traditional take on his vocation removes him from the modern world – his kind of magic is the magic of smoky clubs, starched collars and sleight of hand, an antiquated form of showmanship made redundant by CGI, Vegas and television. In the magician’s aging mentor’s own words, how can you top Copperfield making the Statue of Liberty disappear on peak-time TV?

Accordingy to Lutes’ Wikipedia page, a trip to France exposed him to ‘Bandes Dessinées‘ comic strips (Tintin and Asterix for example), which have greatly influenced his style (see his homage to Hergé on page 77 of Jar of Fools, and extra points if you spot the reference to Chris Ware). Having myself grown up with Asterix comics I can easily relate to these simply drawn characters and the rhythm of the uniform panels on the page. In some ways Lutes reminds me of Chester Brown, another European-influenced comic artist, insomuch as both keep a regular grid of panels on the page and use simply drawn characters, able to express a wide range of emotions through a few considered lines of ink.

Jar of Fools is neatly paced, and does not suffer from the transition from a series of issues in to a single volume. Lutes uses dream sequences and alcoholic hallucinations to show our protagonist’s state of mind, and successfully incorporates these sequences into his narrative, reinforcing the detachment from reality his characters all suffer from. With such doomed characters inhabiting Jar of Fools, a feel-good ending was never going to be on the cards, and although the characters all go through some sort of awakening the ending is downbeat but open-ended enough for the reader to form their own conclusions.

A graphic novel that I will revisit again, in Jar of Fools Lutes has created a work that is engaging and a joy to read, a refreshing change from the navel-gazing that constitutes much of contemporary American ‘grown up’ comics.

Many thanks to Faber & Faber for supplying a copy for review.

This review first appeared on bookgeeks.co.uk.

Buy a copy here.

op

No related posts.