Category Archives: comics
Me and Daniel Clowes and BOMB
I’ve got a review of Daniel Clowes’ newly-reissued The Death Ray in the new issue of BOMB Magazine, and over on their site, an extensive, wide-ranging interview with him. Clowes is, without question, one of the masters we have … Continue reading
Filed under author's own, comics, graphic novels
On Asteroids, Stereoscopic Novels and Time
Tuesday night, as an asteroid was coming very close to striking Earth, I was re-reading a graphic novel I was teaching, Asterios Polyp, that concludes with an asteroid hurtling at the main character, who is, yes, on Earth. I thought about … Continue reading
Life With Mr. Dangerous and Other Stories
1. A friend wrote “What is this frenzy of activity?” Answer: I made a deal with myself that all posts drafted over 1000 words had to be considered as possible essays and finished as such and sent out to magazines … Continue reading
On Teaching the Graphic Novel
About once a month, I get asked by a colleague or friend for the syllabus I used to teach my seminar on the Graphic Novel at Amherst. Included below is a list of the texts that I used to teach … Continue reading
Filed under comics, graphic novels
Banksy, the Simpsons and the DPRK
Banksy’s Simpson credits have made a bit of a splash because he’s an art sensation, but watching it I understood he meant to dramatize the role inexpensive North Korean animation labor plays in the creation of much of what we … Continue reading
Refresh, Refresh
During the semester I read approximately 250 pages a week, to as much as 600, if it’s thesis season–and that doesn’t even include my own writing or my email. But I also don’t notice it–I just do it, like breathing … Continue reading
Filed under author's own, blogs, books, comics, essay, fiction, fox demons, graphic novels, novels, writers, writing
Character Flaw
Yesterday I looked in on a Twitter chat about character flaws that seemed to circle around these statements: “flaws! Yes! Characters have them! What about addiction?” and the whole thing looked just a bit too much like the reason people … Continue reading
Filed under comics, fiction, fiction prompts, Koreanish, writers, writing, writing exercises
All Over the World, This Is How People Tell Stories
Tomorrow, I’m going to wake up and go buy a copy of The Moviegoer, by Walker Percy. I’ve gone too long. * * * At the gym, where I watch TV news, I could only find news on how a … Continue reading
Secret Identities: Asian American Comicon
July 11th, the Asian American Writers Workshop will be hosting a day of events and speakers on Asian American comics. This is going to be a major event, groundbreaking and This is at the new Museum of Chinese in America, … Continue reading
This Is Not The Superhero Film You Were Looking For
In retrospect, the sturm und drang over whether the Watchmen was any good or not (as a film based on the graphic novel) made us lose sight of what it actually was—a story that’s at least meant to satirize the … Continue reading
Filed under animal savagery, comics, film, gossip, graphic novels, manga, what is right with us, what is wrong with us
