Go, Look: Proto Graphic Novels

I can't really recommend Greg Hatcher's lengthy on-line posting on the way mainstream comic books -- and the industry that accrued around it -- slowly circled around the idea of graphic novels as rigorous history, as much as I appreciate anyone who recognizes Gil Kane's admirable, Sisyphean attempts to put together an adult readership book project as well as a anyone who doesn't mind looking at a lot of early indy comics efforts in that light. I'd have too many raised-hand objections. Off the top of my head, and avoiding thorny Jules Feiffer/Garry Trudeau territory, the late Jack Jackson put out comics that not only presaged the modern graphic novels but actually read like something that could have been put out as a cutting edge book yesterday, and you can't really mention RAW as a historical repository for a certain kind of art without mentioning its west coast, misbehaving cousin Weirdo or, more to the point considering this article's aims, its sort-of predecessor Arcade.

Still, it's an expression of a certain point of view and there are a lot of groovy covers to stare at.
 
posted 8:06 pm PST | Permalink
 

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