a cartoon is worth a thousand sensations

 Since I haven’t got any cartoons of my own to post, I thought I’d start talking about the cartoons that have inspired me. Lynda Barry’s cartoons used to be published in the Guardian for a while, in the early-mid 1990′s, I think, under the name “Ernie Pook’s Comeek”. I remember dismissing them as badly-drawn and incomprehensible when I first saw them. Then, one day, I read a cartoon in which Marlys makes her depressed older sister laugh by climbing out onto the porch roof of their house and singing a song at the top of her voice accompanied by the “sticking-out butt dance”. And suddenly I was pulled into the Lynda Barry world of Marlys, Maybonne, Freddie, Arnold, the psycho mum, the insane aunt, and 1960′s America. Ever since I have found them utterly compelling. The drawings are child-like and incredibly expressive. The stories are full of anguish and joy, in not quite equal parts, and seem to be capturing the freshly-minted experiences of a child or young teenager.  I have been enchanted by other cartoons, but I don’t think I’ve ever found any as moving.

Lynda Barry seems to be some sort of hermit living with her artist husband somewhere in the Mid-West and somewhat lacking in business sense and a decent publisher. Her lastest book of cartoons, “100 Demons” is beautifully designed but comes unglued and falls apart after the first reading.

If you don’t read a lot of cartoons, you might find hers a bit difficult, as her style is a bit “crowded” with a lot of writing. But I guarantee, if you persevere, you will be greatly rewarded.