Comics, like poetry, represent a medium perpetually in the midst of trying to define itself, test its boundaries, and overcome stereotypes. And as with poetry, I frequently hear friends say, "I would like to get into comics/graphic novels/narrative art/sequential art, but I don't know where to start!"
As a comics-lover, I would like to share some of my favorite entry points to this phenomenal world. Rather than have a top ten list and count down my favorite graphic novels, I have decided to divide the world of comics into a number of categories and select favorites from within each category. For this week, the category is...
Comics of the "Weird"
Comics and graphic novels provide an amazing outlet for artists to be weird and experimental with narrative, visuals, and format. Many great illustrators of the weird cite Krazy Kat as a major influence, though George Herriman’s work seems so tame by modern standards. Others might choose to the works of R Crumb or similar artists for this category, but I personally gravitate towards comics that are weird without being disturbing or unsettling. My favorite weird comic, and the most influential comic on my own work is Beanworld by Larry Marder, which I discovered at the impressionable age of twelve and still adore. This tale of talking vegetables waging eternal war against one-armed floating heads, communing in secret with a sun goddess, and questing for the pieces of a discombobulated fork gifted by Big-Fish-In-The-Sky shouldn’t work, but does. Read it.
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| Image from Beanworld, courtesy of the CBLDF |
How to Read It: Beanworld is hard to find, but the recent republication by Dark Horse comics means that it is probably available at most comic stores
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| Image from Frank, courtesy of The Comics Journal |
Images in banner collage courtesy of amazon.com
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