Answering to History

Issue #3 of editor and cartoonist
Shing Yin Khor's "Blood Root" anthologies.

 In 2014, I created Jezinkas, a 17-page comics adaptation of a Bohemian folktale about witches who stole people's eyes.  It was in response to a call for intelligent horror stories to be included in Blood Root #3 by Sawdust Press.  Blood Root is a really great anthology and, though the print version is sold out, you can obtain a pay-what-you-want digital download of the book HERE. 

Jezinkas is my only fictional comic in print, to date.  It was fun story to build because I got to draw things like people turning into wolves, owls without eyes and other visually astonishing scenes that don't occur in my life naturally.  The best part, though, was that I didn't have to check and double-check facts, scour and question my memories or consider the impact of my work on people who might be effected by my telling of a real-life story.   

Illustrating Rock History 

Enter comics journalism.  I love the Pacific Northwest's rich music history. When nostalgia drove me to illustrate the building that once housed the OK Hotel, lovers of the now-defunct music venue urged me to draw more.  

Panel from the history comic
of Hollywood's Club Lingerie.

I began interviewing people connected to the OK and drew my first history comic.  It was terrifying because I didn't want to misrepresent anything.  Not all details can be verified.  People had different versions of the same night or notorious story.  I chose to frame episodes as either my own personal take or in the context of "this source said..."

It's how I came to comics.  I created two more venue histories - for Albuquerque's Dingo Bar and Hollywood's Club Lingerie - and now I'm working on an abbreviated comics history of a 4th venue for publication soon.  I haven't been able to reach everyone I wanted to vet, but I'm doing my best to be true to facts and the spirit of the club's history.

My Story Is. . .Well. . .My Story.

Autobiography may share nonfiction status with comics journalism, but I'm coming to it with a little more confidence.

I don't have to research the plot points, for one thing.

Panels from my comic
chronicling the history of the
Chicago Picasso

I will proceed very, very carefully in choosing how to frame where my life intersects with others, though.  And I will never adopt the voice of authority in reporting on historical moments.  There are tragedies in my life, for example, that effected A LOT of people, and everyone involved experienced those events in their own way.  Or, as anyone who has been through a break-up can attest, different people have different views on shared experiences. 

The best thing I know to do is present my story as my story - personally impactful, potentially flawed and ultimately vulnerable.  But I feel that the insights I have encountered are worth sharing, and the story has been pressing me to be told. 

Girl On The Road posts about comics, publication and community on Tuesdays.

Hey! Ho! Let's Go!

Draft title page for my sample
chapter "Girl On The Road,
I-90 1994"

As part of my grant proposals in support of the graphic novel, I outlined that I would use my blog to document my process as I go.  Well, I've officially dived into the drawing portion of things, and here's where I'm at.

Discipline 

I've been told more than one time that I need to write every day to be a writer, told to draw every day to be a cartoonist, and famously informed by the poet Eileen Myles "You wanna write a book?  Write a book. That's the only way you're gonna write one."  So OK.  There are things I'll finally be applying to accomplish my first graphic novel. 

 

Here's my short list:

Draw A Page A Day

At least draw every day, with the goal of a page a day, six days out of the week.  I'm only on page #4, so my due date for raw art on my sample chapter is going to be the end of May.  Since my first and second days were dedicated to an elaborate front cover image set in a sunflower field and an equally elaborate draft title page (above), I'm hoping I can complete two or more pages of art on some days to make up for the truly challenging visuals.

Schedule Business Hours

On the seventh day, I blog.  I build and update my website.  I finally scan work to my ETSY shop (Check check).  I research outside work and draw commissions.  I'm going to concentrate on scheduling as much of the work as I can for completion on Tuesdays.

Just Say No

Panel detail from page #4. 
The Chicago Picasso!

I said yes to a lot of really interesting projects over the past year - most of which somehow culminated over the span of only a few recent weeks.  I love anthologies.  I love art galleries.  I've thoroughly enjoyed creating work for themed art shows.  AND I'm not going to get any further towards my aims as an artist until I complete a graphic novel.

So I need to apply some pretty strict criteria to what I say "yes" to moving forward.  Basically, unless it's a paid illustration gig or something I have a truly deep personal connection to and can complete in a reasonable amount of time, I'm going to be turning projects down.

I am going to contribute to My Small Diary Issue #19 and, of course, Prince did just pass away, so yes to the Prince-themed art show, dammit.

 Girl On The Road posts about comics, publication and community on Tuesdays.

Serbian Anthologies, Stolen Art & Other Stories

The poster I designed for Seattle Busker Week. 
Check out their full schedule Here.

If you hadn't noticed, Gone Girl Comics has been....gone, for a late summer hiatus.

Much of is has had to do with the unusually sunny weather here in the Pacific Northwest coinciding with being given access to an honest-to-god log cabin to renovate in a huge forest on Whidbey Island.  This is amazing, because I am a below-poverty-level artist right now and the gift of a rugged but amazing place to escape to is beyond surreal.  I have spent weeks cleaning and repairing the cabin, and harvesting huckleberries and wild chanterelle mushrooms.  Which leads to extensive, long baking and cooking sessions.

Then there is paid work.  The poster for Seattle Busker Week was part of that, and--if you are in Seattle, you can see artwork in The Seattle Weekly and also attend the festivities.  Combine that with drawing on intense deadlines for comics anthology submissions, and my blog schedule got thrown off a bit.

Image of "Chicago Picasso" in the SKULPTURA? anthology.

But behold!  The submissions have been paying off!  Not only have I been accepted for publications in seven new projects this year, but some of them are actually in print now, including SKULPTURA?, a comics anthology centered on Sculpture that I wrote about last month HERE.  My story "Chicago Picasso" is in it.

I was just informed that only 300 books were printed, and they were distributed to attendees of the 16th Biennial of Art Pančevo in Serbia.  So, it looks like my one contributors copy is all I'll have...and I'm going to cherish it and guard it with my life.

This image, which launched my
comics career, was among
those in my missing portfolio.

Unfortunately, I should have had the thought "guard it with my life" stuck in my head much earlier, as I foolishly left one of my portfolios at a restaurant in Downtown Seattle after a client meeting.  Though I noticed it missing just a few minutes later, when I went back to the restaurant (Tulios) it was GONE.  I filed a police report and have been checking online, where people sell art...in it was the original first page of "Chicago Picasso" along with some work that was very dear to my heart.

I created a Facebook album for the stolen images.  You can view it HERE.  If anyone comes across something--my style is fairly recognizable--do let me know!  But I fear these are gone.  Live and learn.

RETURNING TO THE POSITIVE, I look forward to posting more about new creative pursuits and anthology publications.  The next publications to come out will be Indie Ladies Comics 2014 - Blush, as well as an illustration I did for Outre #4 and then Blood Root! 




C-log posts on comics, publication and community that publishes on Tuesdays.

"Chicago Picasso" Visits Serbia, Meets Aleksandar Zograf

Detail from "Chicago Picasso" by Noel Franklin

My story, "Chicago Picasso," will appear in an international anthology of comics dealing with sculpture this fall!  

The anthology, titled SKULPTURA?, is curated by one of Europe's most successful cartoonist and comics journalist, Aleksandar Zograf.  It is being created as part of the 16th edition of the Pančevo Biennial of Art.  The Biennial launches on September 20th, 2014 in Pančevo, Serbia.

What is a "Chicago Picasso?"

 

The Chicago Picasso -
50 Feet and 162 tons of fun.

"Chicago Picasso" is one of the names for the 50-foot  sculpture designed by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso that stands in the Chicago's Daley Square.  At nine time my height, it dominates the popular public meeting place with a rusted steel presence that is both figurative and abstract.  

Picasso never visited Chicago in his life and how the sculpture came to be there is what my comic is about.  I chose the sculpture for the anthology because I have a personal connection with the sculpture and I have a personal connection to poetry, and the Chicago Picasso was prompted by a poem.

The poetry element of this sculpture's history is often overlooked.  A consortium of architects began working on Daley Plaza (then called the Chicago Civic Center) in 1960.  A large statue was in the plans from the start, and the key architects from the firms collaborating on the project agreed they wanted it to be created by Picasso.

Detail from "Chicago Picasso" by Noel Franklin

Picasso, on the other hand, was 82 at the time, living on the French Riviera and had no internal motivation to be involved in Daley Plaza.  To begin to entice Picasso, Architect Richard "Dick" Bennett wrote him a poem in 1963.  The poem still lives on the Loebl Schlossman & Hackl website.  A 2nd poem was created to be performed at the unveiling of the finished sculpture by soon-to-be Illinois Poet Laureate, Gwendolyn Brooks, in 1967. 

I didn't know about either poems when I began  research for this story, but I was excited to learn of Gwendolyn Brooks' involvement.  I once secured a grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation to bring her to Seattle for the 2000 Seattle Poetry Festival for what was to be one of her last public performances.

Saša Rakezić
aka Aleksandar Zograf

What is an Aleksandar Zograf?

Aleksandar Zograf is the pen name of celebrated Serbian cartoonist and comics journalist, Saša Rakezić, who is curating SKULPTURA? for the Pančevo Biennial of Art.

He is a long-time creator of surrealist art, creating comics based on dreams.  In the early 90's his life became affected by the Yugoslav Wars and he bore witness to the conflict through a series of (still surrealistic) comics journalism called "Regards from Serbia."  His combination of artistic talent and unflinching journalism earned him a post at Vreme--Serbia's Time Magazine--where he contributes two pages of comics journalism a week.

I think you would be fascinated to learn more about Aleksandar Zograf, and his website is a great place to start!

Saša has a long history with the City of Seattle through his relationship with Fantagraphics Books, who have published some of his titles.  I met him at Roq La Rue when he was in Seattle for an event there.  His demeanor was unassuming and his attitude was one of genuine friendliness and curiosity.  Even though I was told something of his experiences in Serbia, the gravity of it was lost on me at that time.

Draft SKULPTURA? cover art by Pat Moriarity.

This was over 10 years before I began making comics in earnest!  I was introduced as a poet and literary arts organizer.  So it is a great honor to work with Saša as a contributor to SKULPTURA?.  Apparently, there will be artists from Serbia, UK, Italy, Brazil, Canada, Portugal, Austria and Greece.   As it turns out, another Seattle comics artist, Pat Moriarity, is the cover artist for SKULPTURA?.  I can't wait to find out who else is part of the contingency.

When I asked him about the connection between comics and sculpture, Sasa sent me the essay he is using to introduce the anthology, which I will reprint below.  And I will publish "Chicago Picasso" here in the United States, sometime after SKULPTURA? comes out in the fall.

C-log posts on comics, publication and community every Tuesday.

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Intro to Skulptura?

How are comics related to sculpture? 

Well, in this modern world you can say that there are no strict lines between different forms of art.  Actually, experimentation and crossovers are welcome. The old world of hardcore “specialists” is gone. So, it felt kinda natural to invite cartoonists to create comics which would express their musings on sculpture and sculpting (in the process, it was funny to learn how many cartoonists actually did or still do sculpture, aside from their regular comics assignments). 

That is how this project was made – we collected stories by comics creators from different countries, allowing different styles and approaches. The result is interesting and thought-provoking, and of course there was a joy of discovering that comics were included in Art Biennial, which is an important fine art event in the town of Pančevo, and Serbia. 

The first page in this book is an example of early comics made in Serbia, from as early as 19th Century, and certainly the premier example of comics commenting on  sculpture and its creators in these parts. The page was created by Jovan Pešić (1866 – 1936), and reprinted here from Zdravko Zupan’s book A Century of Serbian Comics (published by Pančevo’s Cultural Center, 2007). As Zupan stated, Pešić “started to study sculpture in Novi Sad, and continued his studies with the well-known sculptor Đorđe Jovanović, until they had a quarrel. Inspired by this, in 1897 Pešić created a silent story …which was published many years later, in 1969, in the Anthology of the Belgrade’s Museum of Applied Arts”. 

Anyway, the world of comics and the world of sculpture are intermingling, embracing and clashing a multitude of ways, and this anthology may be a good start to learn about these complex relations.


Saša Rakezić alias Aleksandar Zograf