What A Long Strange Strip It's Been

Over the years, every time I manage to read one of Keith Knight's syndicated cartoons, I always think to myself, "Myself, why aren't you doing something this wonderful with your talents?" Until I remember, of course, the reason being is that Keith Knight is already doing it for me. And I can rest assured that it will be done right in his steady hands. I recently, and quite giddily, bought The Complete K Chronicles at Trilogy last week, not even realizing that it had been released, since I used to buy "Keef's" books individually over the last fifteen years that they have been released. This collection compiles the first four books of his single-page, slice 'o life illustrations of our protagonist, an African American living in eccentric San Francisco telling "true-life" tales of wacky roommates, family oddities, musical musings, politics, race, sex, romance, all done with Knight's signature big-nosed, googly-eyed self portrait looking on and interacting. With the kind of self-depreciating sense of humor that makes me fall recklessly in love with many a cartoon character, if they don't watch themselves (oh, I have already said too much).

A self-described gumbo (according to one of Knight's strips) of influences including "Charles Schulz, Garry Trudeau, Jules Feiffer, MAD Magazine, Parliament-Funkadelic, Warner Bros. cartoons, Berkeley Breathed, Bill Watterson, Garry Larson, The Young Ones, Richard Pryor, Bill Hicks, Paul Mooney, R. Crumb, Mary Fleener, Harvey Pekar, Matt Groening, Pete Bagge, Jaime Crespo, Nina Paley, Eve Gilbert, Eric Drooker, and hip-hop music", I think Keef covers all the essential basics, leaving me with very little to follow up with, especially when I become overwhelmed with the clever ease in which he makes it all seem, with his simple writing and free art, something I'd no doubt complicate if I were at the helm. Check out his website, with a regularly updated blog, comic strips, and some information about his hip-hop group the Marginal Prophets. God love you, Keef. And don't ever stop what you're doing. Or else (shudder) I might have to take over after you (cracking knuckles).

Something else I've read recently. Jessica Abel's La Perdida is the story of a North American woman named Carla who comes to find herself as well as lose herself in Mexico, trying to absorb the culture as well as assimilate with the denizens in order to connect with something that she felt she may have been lacking in her life back home in Chicago. Crashing temporarily with her increasingly put-upon ex-lover, she mingles with the rest of the "gringo" expatriates who associate together within their neighborhood in Mexico City before she struggles to fit in with the actual Mexicans, getting a place of her own and a job, despite hardly knowing the language and what bit of Mexican culture she knows comes from her obsession with Frida Kahlo (even she looks pretentiously out of place with her long Frida dresses and plaited Frida hair amongst the Mexicans in their casual jeans and T-shirts).

Carla soon runs with her own crowd, including Memo (above), a contentious communist who fails to see the irony of making a living selling Che Guevara T-shirts to tourists on the street, and Oscar, a aspiring famous DJ who doesn't even own a turntable. The art is a bit scratchy for my tastes, but still distinct enough to follow, and the language gradually shifts from English to Spanish in a wonderfully fluid manner that allows us to assimilate into Carla's new life right along with her (there is a Spanish-to-English glossary in the back) in a way where we learn as she learns. Most interestingly of all, Carla is not by any means portrayed as a hero, or a Mary Sue, or some perfect protagonist for the reader to identify. Carla can be annoying, whiny, pretentious, and hard-headed at times, which makes her one of the most realistic characters I have probably ever seen in a comic, even from my most favorite of artists/writers. A good read, and terrific for keeping you guessing how the rather terrifying dénouement might end.

So it's been a good past month for funnypapers. And since I got my stimulus check today I helped boost the ever-struggling artist once again by taking a dive at the first installment of Jessica Farm.

And no, I haven't read it yet. In case you've missed the story (according to the write-up on Amazon.com) "This book is the first volume of a life-spanning comics project in which (Josh Simmons) drew one page every month for the past seven years, starting in January 2000—and will continue this project for 50 years in total, making up the story as he goes and releasing 96-page increments every 8 years until he amasses a 600-page body of work." So I'm thinking, do I really want to get involved with a story that will finally sort itself out by the year 2050? Should I be reading one page a month, until the next book comes out? Can someone say "gimmick"? And again, why am I not doing something like this myself?

This is why I've been brainstorming, people. I'm hoping... we'll here's to hoping on hoping, anyway. I have some ideas. We'll see where this all leads. If I don't completely collapse first.

*bananacandleatbothends*