Recent Reading
The Cute Manifesto
A small book, The Cute Manifesto, by James Kochalka contains a couple of small writings and six comics dealing with the meaning of art, the meaning of comics, his decision to have a baby after 9/11, and more.
This statement on the last page reminded me a lot of my approach to teaching:
"There have been many grand declarations made in this book. In the heat of an argument I can believe resolutely in absolutes, but then later, upon reflection, everything seems relative again. However, my arguments weren't really designed to convince you of what I believe is the truth, but rather as a tool to help me uncover the truth. It turns out there are many truths, and some of them are contradictory. In fact, these truths can be so contradictory that truth is not even the right word to describe them. Slippery Cave Fish is better. There are many slippery cave fish one can chase, and they lead us in different directions. You've got to shine a light and figure out what fish you're chasing, and what other fish are around you."
More Recent Reading
The Summer 2005 edition of Mome is an anthology of comics writers.
Push Man is a compilation of dark, comic stories from the mind of Yoshihiro
Tatsumi.
From the jacket cover: "Over four decades ago, Yoshihiro Tatsumi expanded the horizons of comics storytelling by using the visual language of manga to tell gritty, literary short stories about the private lives of everyday people. He has been called 'the grandfather of Japanese alternative comics' and has influenced generations of cartoonists..."
Because of our new puppy, I've been reading lots of dog books that Gail
is bringing home.