* This interview of Benjamin Marra by GQ’s Alex Pappademas is really fabulous for a variety of reasons, even beyond the fact that it’s an interview with Benjamin Marra in GfuckinQ. First of all, it’s the longest interview with Marra I’ve seen so far. Second, it was done over the phone rather than by email, so you’re getting more or less unadulterated Marra as himself, rather than the more studied “man of art, man of lust” voice you get whenever he sits down in front of a keyboard. Third, because it’s long and because it’s done in real-time, it goes in all sorts of directions–like this part, which may be the most interesting thing I’ve ever seen anyone say about, of all things, True Blood:
I think about that show True Blood, which is this awesome sex and violence soap opera, it’s total cult stuff, and people love it–and that’s done by Alan Ball, who’s done some really arty kinds of things.
Right. American Beauty and stuff. And now he’s doing this show–and I say this positively–that’s complete trash, in a lot of ways.
Yeah! And that’s the reason why I like it so much. It’s not apologetic in any way. It is what it is and it makes no bones about it. It’s really just stripped-down, basic, well-executed entertainment.
I remember talking long, long ago about Invasion U.S.A. and how difficult it would be today to recapture that level of unthinking mayhem without resorting to Shoot ‘Em Up-style ugly self-consciousness. I think the two great arguments that no, this can be done are the Crank series and the comics of Benjamin Marra.
* Much like the Bavarian Illuminati, Kevin Huizenga is spreading his shadowy tentacles throughout the whole Internet: In addition to his regular blog, and his drawing club’s blog, and his recently unearthed Fight or Run blog, and all the goodies he’s got hidden on USSCatastrophe, he also has a blog I hadn’t seen before called New Construction, which focuses on “cartooning practices and concerns.”
* At the latter, he’s got a great post up on Bushmiller, Nancy, iconicity, and “pure cartooning,” the gist of which is (I think) that it behooves us to divorce value judgments from our descriptions of the relative simplicity or complexity of a cartoonist’s visual style. “Maybe it’s as simple as wanting to keep clear the distinction between description and prescription,” he says. Smart stuff that reminded me of his last push back against the notion of “pure cartooning”, which he brings back up himself.
* And he takes a little time out to call out the default mode of dismissing alternative comics.
* Oh yeah, here’s another blog, where Huizenga and his wife list the books they’ve read.
* Ron Rege Jr.’s Yeast Hoist #15 is a beer. Not even kidding. Could I love him more?
* Do not read this unless you’ve read all the books, but George R.R. Martin’s latest blog post reveals that he wrote a certain chapter in a certain book last even though it wasn’t the last chapter in that book, which makes a lot of sense given what happens in it.
* Why don’t let’s take a stroll through Psycho with Ali Arikan.
* This Sunday sale at Jim Hanley’s Universe in NYC is one of the nuttiest things I’ve ever heard of: You buy a longbox for $25 and can stuff it with as many back issues as it can hold. Frank Santoro, clear your calendar.
Tags: A Song of Ice and Fire, fantasy, Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin
God, that chapter in that Martin book. I remember my body temperature plummeting as I read it. Even now, just hearing those two words brings back that bottom-dropping-out feeling.
Correction…it’s a small Diamond box, but it fits about 250 comics, sans bags and boards. Still a helluva bargain!
I know–I just call all comic boxes longboxes, Vito. Shortboxes sounds silly. 🙂
Jeff: RIGHT??? I lost sleep that night, I was so upset.