In February ’04, when Jim Munroe and I were interviewed for an eye story on this website, Toronto cartoonist Marc Ngui caricatured us for the cover. He made Jim a spot-on reproduction of a video-game skin. Me, he drew in a nimble cross-hatching, a Crumb-style likeness so effective […]
I was in Vancouver a few weeks back, mostly for kicks but also to sample the local comics scene. There’s more to it than Marc Bell, whose playfully obtuse strips and illustrations get most of the attention. Nicknamed Vansterdam for its tolerance of all things herbal, Vancouver has […]
If you’ve seen the movie Sideways, you may remember Paul Giamatti’s character discussing his imminent book deal with a certain small-press publisher named Conundrum. “Conundrum?!” I thought between fistfuls of popcorn. “No, it can’t be.” How did Andy Brown — the mensch behind Montreal indie publisher Conundrum Press […]
“‘No matter where you point your toes while squatting, your quads are always worked the same,’ quoth this cheerful, self-confident young bodybuilder. And what an inspiring vision to the artist.” — R. Crumb, Art & Beauty Magazine, issue two
Not long ago,
you’d have been escorted out with a stifled laugh had you come to the Toronto
Reference Library looking for comic books. Today you’re led into a hushed chamber,
softly lit, where comics are spread lasciviously in glass cases and their artists’
original drawings are hung on the walls like rare insects.
“What does an eraser sound like?” The question was floated at a comic jam not long ago by a cartoonist who’d been slipped a panel to complete. It showed an artist rubbing himself out. Sidestepping the picture’s metaphor, the cartoonist instead was racking himself for a sound effect […]
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The Cultural Gutter 