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January 24, 2006
Internal Life
Saturday I attended the Seth and Jaime Hernandez interview at Pratt's Manhattan Gallery. [You can see an extremely crummy photo below, taken with my cell phone camera.] The two cartoonists spoke at length about their work, discussing their approaches to telling stories, their drawing techniques, and more. One of the more interesting exchanges, at least one that stuck with me the most, was their discussion about character acting. Hernandez explained that he tries not to pose his characters; he wants them to look like they don't know there's a camera in the room. Seth added to the idea by explaining that he tries not to think of a camera at all. Instead, he imagines that the scene is being observed by a ghost floating through the scene.
Another topic that Seth spoke about at length was the idea of internal vs. external stories. He is fascinated by the idea that everybody has their own internal life, made up of their thoughts, their emotions, the dreams they have at night, etc. That's what he tries to explore in his comics, and that's why he doesn't concern himself very much with plot. That's an approach that I've seen more than one cartoonist take, but with varying degrees of success. This morning I read a comic book that blew me away, one that was focused almost entirely on the internal life of its main character: Ganges #1 by Kevin Huizenga.
Huizenga tells the story of a relatively mundane day in the life of Glenn Ganges. Glenn goes to the library to pick up some books and CDs, which he brings home and enjoys while his wife Wendy does some animation work on her computer. That doesn't sound like much of a story, and if I were to add that Ganges accompanies his humdrum activities with ruminations on the nature of time, life, and love, you might be inclined to tune me out even further. I know I would flip through a book like that and put it back on the shelf; I've done just that, in fact, with Huizenga's Or Else any number of times. I see now why that was such a big mistake. It's not just because Huizenga's insights are engaging and interesting, it's because he is such a gifted cartoonist that he can weave them into an utterly enthralling narrative that wouldn't work in any other medium.
Along with his economical, engaging cartoony drawing and his knack for beat-perfect storytelling, Huizenga engages in a fair bit of formal experimentation in this book. In the first "chapter," for example, Glenn walks to the library, pondering the passage of time. Huizenga goes crazy with the interplay of panel borders, thought balloons, and narrative captions in this sequence. It isn't always intuitive to read, but it definitely forces the reader to consider the relation of the past to the present and the way that sequential comics represent these concepts. Another notable sequence comes at the end of the book, when a caffeinated Glenn lies in bed watching his wife sleep. He considers the billions of people throughout history who have done the exact same thing, thinking the exact same thoughts. In a quiet, beautiful sequence on a black background, Huizenga lays out a series of panels showing various people (including characters from earlier passages in the book, such as Native Americans and elderly Glenn and Wendy), silently admiring their sleeping lovers. It's not showy or saccharin-sweet; it's understated and sublime.
I'm not afraid to eat crow, and it's a good thing, because I have a steaming plateful in front of me. Consider me converted. Kevin Huizenga is one of the best cartoonists working today. Ganges #1 will be in stores tomorrow; fans of the comic medium would do themselves a major disservice by overlooking it.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at January 24, 2006 01:23 PM
Comments
Wasn't that comic good?
Posted by: Tom Spurgeon at January 24, 2006 02:22 PM
Absolutely incredible. I finished it and then went back to the beginning and re-read it.
2006 may only be 24 days old, but we already have the comic book of the year.
Posted by: jdonelson_nyc at January 24, 2006 03:44 PM