The Elm Student Newspaper
Lit House Hosts Marathon of Pictures, Words, and All the Space In-Between
Volume 80, Issue 25
May 1, 2009
By Laura Walter
Elm Staff Writer
Literature took a new illustrated spin at last weekend’s Graphic Narrative Festival, hosted by the Rose O’Neill Literary House. Officially entitled “Pictures + Words: The New Literature of Graphic Narrative,” the festival on April 25 featured the brilliant minds of Idiots’ Books, Kate Beaton, Chad Parmenter, Emmanuel Guibert, and a dozen student writer-artists.
First to present were Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr, the creators of Idiots’ Books. The author and illustrator are well known in Chestertown (and increasingly across the nation) for their unique style of illustrated satirical books. They “make sure the words and pictures are working together in a non-redundant way,” in order to create a richer reading experience.
They presented a few of their own works, then introduced the students they taught this spring. In the class called Pictures and Words, students practiced what Swanson and Behr try to create. Thus, pairs of writers and artists collaborated to write their own books.
Joe Yates and Mike Komar were the first students to present, with An Uncommon Collection of Common Nursery Rhymes. This project literally embodies the class objectives, as the book’s illustrations and words battle for space within the pages. They present a humorously violent relationship amongst the likes of Little Bo Peep and company.
Doug Carter and Morgan Culver focused on the tension between people in Museum of Human Conflict. The setting was a “utopia” in the future, where fighting no longer exists, and people are looking back at the strife in our society. This is not about robbery and murder, but about little injustices and how common people mistreat each other everyday without thinking twice.
Next in the program, Kate Beaton discussed the industry of webcomics. Creator of the historical webcomic Hark! A Vagrant, Beaton discussed her inspiration: “A lot of my comics are about death… which is too bad,” she laughed. Indeed, history is made up of a large number of battles and wars, providing rich fodder for a historical cartoon.
Beaton emphasized that there is a place for every kind of comic on the internet, from mathematical to musical. “The internet is a big place; you never know who might be reading.” Thus it is easier to find an audience here than through print.
The Canadian gave plenty of advice, from how to turn a profit (be patient, then merchandize) to how to deal with rude feedback (ignore it). “There can be a lot of negativity online,” she said, “But the positives are so much greater than the negatives.”
Chad Parmenter then read from his collection of poems on an unlikely subject: Batman. The caped crusader has leapt from comics to television to movies, and now he has infiltrated poetry.
One of a growing number of superhero poets, Parmenter’s sonnets focus on the dark themes of the comic, not just the comic itself. But the villains are there too.
In one poem, WC senior Aileen Brenner was invited to read the part of Catwoman in a dialogue with Batman. “I’m still not sure why I’m writing about Batman,” Parmenter mused. “Well, he’s a badass.”
He noted that he was always afraid of the dark as a child, but a certain pair of flannel Batman pajamas gave him courage. Later, at the age of 22, the terrors of relationships and real life caused him to turn again to this hero of old: the Dark knight. Maybe it’s in the mask. Parmenter said that “the security of Batman... gets you to a safer place.” Thus he has focused on the superhero subject, which is a great example of how illustration can inspire writing, rather than the typical opposite.
The French graphic novelist Emmanuel Guibert, who spent a week in residence with a Washington College Fellowship as part of the PEN World Voices Festival, spoke next. His wife and daughter were a part of the crowd, emphasizing Josh Shenk’s declaration that “art can be enjoyed in any language.” Guibert advocated the practice of drawing everyday with different mediums. Impromptu sketching makes you “look at something and analyze it in that moment.” Thus it “brings immediate contact with people and things around you.”
Guibert’s therapeutic method shows a sense of connectedness between the drawer and subject. He happily mused over the connection he shared with an old American who lived in France and inspired the graphic novel Alan’s War. “You ask a man for directions, and he shows you a way you follow for years.” The two collaborated a few years before Alan Cope died, and Guibert still cherishes the partnership.
Now a huge advocate of collaboration, Guibert says we should forget “death.... let’s share everything in life. Let’s see what we can do.”
Mark Siegel, editorial director of First Second Books was also invited to speak about his work with Guibert. He discussed the history and growth of the graphic narrative in the U.S., as this culture has worked to create a style different from the Japanese or French approach.
The second half of the students took the podium, beginning with Laura Walter and Darby Hewes. They examined the connections and distance between two people in Elephants in the Road. Walter wrote what the characters literally said, while Hewes’ illustrations showed how each person perceived the other, thus giving the reader full insight of the characters.
Caroline Knuth, Erin O’Hare, and Karen Hye had the most unique format, as they designed one large map of Dissociative Identity Disorder, entitled *What DID I Do? It represented one man’s journey as he tries to sort through his multiple personalities. Each writer and artist assembled different parts of the map to visually develop many characters and create an extreme tension that only the reader might resolve.
To finish the program, Erica Walburg and Kristina Kelley created the three-part Definitions of Faith. The short booklets examine the way people do or do not exhibit faith in themselves, in others, and in religion. They fashioned a comic strip-styled universe that steadily followed the theme without blatantly flaunting it. The marathon afternoon ended with a flourish and a fantastic array of food. Audience members noted that each writer and illustrator had a different place and perspective in the world of graphic narrative. But everyone took a creative twist, and that is what makes the graphic narrative intriguing and viable in the modern world.