World Famous Comics: It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken
It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken
By: Seth Publisher: Drawn and Quarterly Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Drawn and Quarterly Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 176 Publication Date: July 01, 2003
An Acknowledged Classic returns gorgeously re-designed.
In his first graphic novel, It’s a Good Life, if You Don’t Weaken--a best-selling D & Q titles ever--Seth pays homage to the wit and sophistication of the old-fashioned magazine cartoon. While trying to understand his dissatisfaction with the present, Seth discovers the life and work of Kalo, a forgotten New Yorker cartoonist from the 1940s. But his obsession blinds him to the needs of his lover and the quiet desperation of his family. Wry self-reflection and moody colours characterize Seth’s style in this tale about learning lessons from nostalgia. His playful and sophisticated experiment with memoir provoked a furious debate among cartoon historians and archivists about the existence of Kalo, and prompted a Details feature about Seth's "hoax".
Obsessed With Nothing I checked out this book from my local library, after hearing it mentioned as a very well written graphic novel. I was hoping for something along the lines of 'Blankets' or 'BOPoison', but was very disappointed with a story that was never about much and never really went anywhere. It's a fictional story about a man [the author] who can't handle life, obsesses about minutia in the past, and nearly spends all of his time constantly moping about his depressing childhood and depressing life, over and over. Though he had some nice little observations, the author's character was so limp and self-obsessed about nothing that it was a frustrating read. I don't know how anyone could spend money on this, or give it a glowing review, but don't read it if you'd prefer characters who can face and struggle against life's challenges and disappointments. (ps. Go read Blankets or Pedro And Me again.)
'A little misery is good for the soul' To those who feel Seth's narratives are 'mundane': I feel sorry for you. You're missing a lot, including the entire point. The essence is in the details, and the prevalent theme that these details are so easily lost in the increasingly sped-up passage of time is certainly a significant and admirable lamentation. This book is packed with insight and genuine affection towards the idea of remembrance, which is quite different from mere nostalgia. Far from a 'rant' against modernity, it is a deftly understated meditation on what makes things worth being remembered, and appreciating what makes life, and lives, worthwhile. Also check out 'Clyde Fans', which is an even more poignant and subtle variation on these themes.
A moving, understated short novel In the 1990s, many non-superhero comics were autobiographical. Cartoonists told their own stories, revealing the details of their mundane habits, obsessions, love lives, and their work. Seth did it, too, in the second half of the decade, and his story is one of the most elegant and honest.
Taking his obsession with gag cartoons and newspaper strips as a jumping-off point, Seth tells his story about looking for meaning in a rapidly changing world. You get the sense that he's worried about being pretentious (or boring), so he spices things up with conversations with his friend Chester, dating a cute brunette, visiting his mother and brother, ice skating, and smoking lots of cigarettes. There's some travel and a little detective work, too.
The images are not always tied to Seth's thoughtful narration. At times, he gives you landscapes to look at while he writes about his life. This could be disorienting, but it works very well. The words and images create an emotional effect that wouldn't exist if he narrated what you were looking at. His style is a personal variation on gag cartoons from the middle of the century, which turns out to be the perfect style for Canadian cities and suburbs.
If you're looking for something special --- maybe you want to read non-superhero comics, or you want a short novel with a twist to it --- try this book. It's perfectly suited for adults who feel a little out of place in the world.
Travelogue with excellent strokes If you have read Joe Matt's incredible confession "Peep Show", you might remember his friend Seth's words "I'm working on an autobiographical comic book, but it's not finished yet...". Now here comes the comic, but in a very different style from Joe's (so Joe had no need to feel like part of some insidious TREND).
The story traces the life of an old cartoonist Kalo, and it wraps over Seth's own life. The drawing touch of the cartoons in good old era also wrap over Seth's style. We can see the trace of Kalo and old cartoonists not only in the story, but on Seth's joyful drawing touch on rain, trains, trees, hairs, wires, a kite, a bog roll, and even the smoke of cigarette. This comic is about how our thoughts move when we draw lines. Don't stick at a single frame or single sentiment in the depressed monologue. Feel how the sequence of frames and lines are traveling with the sentiment traveling, and you can notice here is a new way of travelogue.
Deeply involving Seth is one of my favorite comic artists today. He manages to combine a distinctly personal drawing style with an involving and timely storyline, in this series about a man (based on himself, presumably) who loathes the post-modern and seeks out the past through a 1950s New Yorker cartoon artist, whose work is an inspiration and source of joy. That's the basic plotline, but the story also involves the reader in the main character's personal thoughts and his relationships, how they sometimes lead to a life lived by his convictions, but often alone.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tony's Online Tips
Trevor
