A while ago, I stumbled across A Space Boy Dream, a wonderfully clever and charming webcomic by Moira Zahra and Mark Scicluna.
Somehow, my first experience of A Space Boy Dreamwas somewhere in the middle of the comic and out of order. But I immediately perceived Moira and Mark’s refreshingly satirical portrayal of hipsters, struggling artists, and the average young person. Not only can I relate to the plight of the angsty and self-concious protagonist Vincent, but I also marvel in the amazingly expressive character designs and unique design aesthetic of this comic.
I didn’t realize until later that the artists live in and portray the Mediterranean island of Malta!! This fact went completely over my head because A Space Boy Dream‘s hipsters are identical to the ones I’ve encountered in Manhattan, San Francisco, and across the U.S. in general. I guess some components of society and subculture are far more universal than I originally imagined.
The following images belong to Moira Zahra and Mark Scicluna.
For more A Space Boy Dream, please check out the following websites…
Two Storiesis an autobiographical graphic novel that deals with themes of “…life, love, loss, and depression.” As far as I can tell, the novel will consist of a series of short stories that are all autobiographical, but will be presented in various styles, tones, and genres (“serious to silly”).
Not only are Josh’s illustrations absolutely stunning, full of texture and movement, but his storytelling is powerful and compelling. For this first chapter, it is not just a story of attempted suicide, but more astonishingly a step-by-step examination of the protagonist/author’s thought process — a complex mind that makes connections (from Shakespeare to It’s A Wonderful Life and back to reality) and plays tricks on itself (“The Suicide Game” on page 4).
Josh is a Xeric Award-winning cartoonist who works as a freelance illustrator as well as an adjunct professor at Laguna College of Art and Design. With such an impressive background and body of work, I’m expecting Two Stories to be quickly snatched up by publishers.
The following images belong to Joshua Kemble.
For more Quarterly Stories and Joshua Kemble, please check out the following websites…
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the following images or video!!
One of my favorite operas is Jacques Offenbach‘s The Tales of Hoffmann(Les contes d’Hoffmann). This opera is a fantastical retelling of the life of the German Romantic author E. T. A. Hoffmann, casting Hoffmann as the protagonist of his own stories.
Placido Domingo performing the “Chanson de Kleinzach” aria.
Désirée Rancatore performing ”Les oiseaux dans la charmille.”
Through The Tales of Hoffmann, I developed an interest in Hoffmann and his stories, quickly leading me to Sigmund Freud’s The Uncanny. In Freud’s essay, he uses many of the same Hoffmann stories as Offenbach, but in this case to prove a psychological point (not that Offenbach’s opera isn’t deeply psychological). If I remember correctly, Freud even mentions Offenbach’s opera.
Portrait of E. T. A. Hoffmann
I’m sure you are all wondering, “What does all this have to do with The Nutcracker?” Well, little do most people know, E. T. A. Hoffmann wrote in 1816 one of the earliest versions of The Nutcracker story, entitled The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (Nussknacker und Mausekönig).
Alexandre Dumas was also a fan of Hoffmann, employing allusions to Hoffmann’s stories in The Count of Monte Cristo. Dumas even went as far as creating a revision to Hoffmann’s Nutcracker in 1844 called History of The Nutcracker (Histoire d’un casse-noisette), or The Tale of the Nutcracker.
Towards the end of the 19th Century, Hoffmann’s Nutcracker was adapted to ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, perhaps the most famous incarnation of the tale. I write this post because my dad purchased tickets to the San Francisco Ballet to see The Nutcracker at the end of the month. Perhaps later I’ll add my thoughts on the production to this post.
Tchaikovsky’s music is always wonderful, if not a little too overplayed for the holidays. A lot of people tend to associate The March from The Nutcracker or The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy not with Tchaikovsky, but with the thousands of Christmas commercials that use these pieces. This also happens with The Chinese Tea Dance from The Nutcracker with Disney’s Fantasia and The Sleeping Beauty Waltz with Disney’s Sleeping Beauty.
I believe the most creative and exciting production of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker is Mark Morris’s The Hard Nut. The Hard Nut is set in 1950s America with a very retro feel inspired by the comic artist Charles Burns — a strange but brilliant compliment to the classical music. I hope to one day be able to attend a live performance.
Advertisement for The Hard Nut.
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Interesting Pixel-Flick Alliance Meetup today. According to Brian, the membership fee ($35) gets you a profile page on the Pixel-Flick website, an on-camera interview (2-5 minutes), among other freebees. Something to think about…
Sunday, September 16th
E-mail correspondence with potential production company about The Man Who Never Smiled. According to the Director of Photography/Assistant Director/Production Coordinator, a contract is currently being drafted!
Scheduled to meet with Gabe and his friend next Thursday (update: changed to Friday).
Thursday, September 20th
Continuing work on The Flea.
Working with Shannon on blog content for The First Reich.
Friday, September 21st
Continuing work on The Flea.
Today, received “BlueCat Screenplay Competition Analysis” for my full-length screenplay The Golden Curator. Overall very positive feedback! “What a neat and twisted little tale you have here… Even with all the craziness on the page, it never sounded like a campy comedy; instead, it was like a drawing room farce with just enough menace to make the viewer worry about the fate of our hero.”
Saturday, September 22nd
Today, very successful meeting with Shannon. I feel like we’re definitely on the same page, and that my ideas for this project are flowing and coalescing. I can’t wait to start outlining the first pages!!
Sunday, September 23rd
A bit of fun…
Monday, September 24th
Working on becoming better acquainted with the exhibitors at APE (Alternative Press Expo). There are a couple I most definitely want to check out, but I want to make sure I don’t miss anything!
GoFundMe.com doesn’t really seem to be helping me so far. I’m considering switching over to IndieGoGo.com and offering a variety of perks.
Tuesday, September 25th
Signed up with IMDbPro. Working on inquiry letters.
Etcetera
The Poet and the Flea: 47 pages of written script (1 page of script = 4-6 illustrated pages), and about 36 pages (1-24, 27-30 completed, and 25-26, 31-36 in progress) of illustrated work.
To Do:
Meeting with Gabe & his friend Friday, September 28th.
During thesummer of 2009, I bought a new camera and took a class at the Kansas City Art Institute (Missouri) so that I could better document my upcoming travels abroad in Japan (Fall 2009 – Summer 2010). In the process, I created this series of quirky images — a “photographic novel” of sorts. I thought I would share this project here!
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Plastic Journey on Valley
(Click on images to enlarge.)
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Bonus:
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The sequel, entitled Odd Playground, will be posted soon!
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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.
No Longer Human: A story of obsession. Inspired by the deaths of the artists Jeremy Blake and Theresa Duncan.
Valentine: A retelling of Alexandre Dumas’s The Count of Monte Cristo, focused on the story of Maximilian Morrel and Valentine de Villefort.
The Man Who Never Smiled: A contemporary film noir.
Houdini & Conan Doyle: An exploration of the friendship, falling-out, and rivalry between the escape artist Harry Houdini and the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Short Screenplays
Robots Are a Girl’s Best Friend is the story of a troubled middle-aged man who attends a Halloween party dressed as Marilyn Monroe. A life-changing encounter with an “inanimate object” helps him come to terms with his identity.
Death Is No BadFriend:Based on the life and works of Robert Louis Stevenson. Robert Louis attempts to escape his guilty conscience through honeymooning on Mount Saint Helena. But his illness catches up, forcing him to face his demons.
Fiction
“Go Jump in the Lake”: The precursor to Who is Laurence Harvey? An imagining of Laurence Harvey’s experience on the set of The Manchurian Candidate (1962). During filming in Manhattan, Larry is required to jump into the frozen waters of the Lake in Central Park. With this feat looming over his head, he questions his ability to cope with the pressure.
“Robots Are a Girl’s Best Friend” (See above.)
“Bludgeoning The Walrus”: A ‘60s period piece about a movie set designer who is fed up with his lecherous, big-shot boss.
“Ulysses in Hell”: An account from the perspective of the hero Ulysses as he burns in Dante’s Inferno.
“Coin-operated Golem”: Inspired by “A Supermarket in California” by Allen Ginsberg.
“The Ink Drinker”: A dystopian story about a young girl who learns the truth about an outcast of society.
“The Scar Still Hurts” (In Progress)
“The Man with a Television for a Head” (In Progress)
Note: For those interested, the following is the rationale I wrote for my senior colloquium at New York University: Gallatin School of Individualized Study (for more information, click here). This rationale is basically a map of my personal history, thought process, and creative inspiration. The notions explored here hold great significance in all my work.
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The Hero as Other
From an early age, I found the idea of the hero and his journey fascinating. During middle school, Joseph Campbell’s universal formula of the hero’s quest became the nucleus of my understanding of all narrative mediums. For me, Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces is a work of cultural anthropology, which identifies a remarkable array of elements occurring cross-culturally within the ancient tradition of storytelling.
During my first year of college, I took a course at Smith College called “Writing, Japan and Otherness,” which helped evolve my understanding of the hero’s quest. This course was my introduction to the dual concept of self and other. Through Modern Japanese literature, I discovered how social constructs of identity affect the way in which the hero moves through his journey.
At Gallatin, I continue to pursue and develop my interpretation of the hero’s journey through the perspective of self and otherness. Gallatin courses such as “Yellow Peril: Documenting and Understanding Xenophobia” and “Globalization: Promises and Discontents” provided an opportunity to investigate how stereotypical social constructs influence the way in which society interacts and how society portrays otherness in narrative mediums. Courses such as “Tragic Visions” and “Dante’s World” further educated my notion of the hero’s journey, complimenting my knowledge of Modern Japanese heroes with those of Western classics. A variety of writing courses such as “Writers as Shapers” and “Crafting Short Fiction From the Sentence Up” allowed me to examine self and otherness within my own creative process.
The hero is a universal presence. Originating from the mythology of the ancient world and passed down throughout traditions of narrative mediums such as literature and more recently film, the hero is an essential figure in the art of storytelling.
Society is captivated by the notion of the hero. But why are these figures essential to society? What makes the hero a hero in the eyes of society?
Predominantly, the hero possess a characteristic that sets him apart, designating him a solitary figure within a greater society. Often, the hero is misunderstood by the world around him and subjected to society’s constructs.
Through his challenging journey of trials, the hero undergoes great suffering. And, as a result of his journey, the hero is distinct from the rest of society.
But how does society perceive the hero and his journey? How does society identify the hero? Where does the hero occur within the dual concept of self and other?
In terms of identity, the other is that which defines the self. The self is regarded as the archetypical social “norm,” while the other in contrast embodies that which is foreign to the self. Typically, the self is overcome by the need to tame the other for fear that the other poses a threat to the authoritative identity of the self. The self and other are trapped in a perpetual struggle against one another sustained by the self experiencing a simultaneous attraction to and repulsion towards the other. The identity of the other remains other only through the perspective of the self. In this way, the presence of the other causes the self to constantly question its own existence.
Across boundaries of culture, time period, and narrative medium, the hero protagonist is universally other. The hero exists exclusively as other in that the hero occurs only within the context of society, that which constitutes the self. According to Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces, the hero transcends the status of “…mere human beings…” in that the hero is bestowed with some variety of “…extraordinary powers…” (319). The hero is distinguished from the average human being, a member of the social self, by an atypical “power,” or by what otherwise takes the form of a deviation from society in the hero’s physical existence (his strengths, his flaws, etc.), his place in society (race, ethnicity, social status, etc.), and/or his psychological or intellectual state of mind.
Due to his otherness, the hero protagonist is engaged in an eternal struggle with the rest of society. This struggle stems from the simultaneous attraction and repulsion that society as self feels towards the hero other. How do these conflicting attitudes coexist within the social self? In The Uncanny, Sigmund Freud discusses the duality of that which is heimlich – “…the homely and the domestic…” – and that which is unheimlich – what is “…removed from the eyes of strangers, hidden, secret” (132-133). The duality of heimlich and unheimlich expresses how a single entity can be perceived as simultaneously familiar yet foreign. The social self is attracted to the hero other as an entity that undergoes suffering for the sake of greater society. At the same time, the social self is repulsed by the hero other as an entity that possesses traits that do not typically occur within society and thus challenge the authority of the social self. In this way, the social self is conflicted as to whether to embrace or to eradicate the hero other, spurring on the struggle between the social self and the hero other.
Through the lens of Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces, as well as Sigmund Freud’s The Uncanny, I would like to explore the following themes within the domain of “The Hero as Other”: 1) the elements that define the hero as other; 2) the transformation of the hero other; 3) the simultaneous attraction and repulsion towards the hero other; 4) the role of violence in the journey of the hero other; and 5) the hero other as self.
What elements create the hero other? The following social constructs may factor into the hero’s otherness: race, ethnicity, nationality, regional identity, culture, subculture, language (accents, dialects, etc.), social class, age, gender, sexuality (sexual orientation, sexual “deviation,” etc.), nature of personal relationships (e.g. dysfunctional families, childhood trauma or other traumatic experiences, etc.) and one’s role within these relationships, belief system (religion, morals, ideology, spirituality, philosophy, beliefs, etc.), mental disorder, physical appearance, physical illness or handicap, addiction or obsession, mythical or supernatural elements (hero transformed into creature; hero is living man among the dead; hero is a demigod, vampire, etc.; hero possesses supernatural powers; etc.), occupation or skill (artist such as painter, writer, director, actor, comedian, etc.; scientist, etc.) and one’s success or failure in one’s field, individual or individuality, and/or personality. The social self dictates the “norm” of these social constructs. The hero may possess one or more traits that deviant from these “norms,” resulting in the hero’s otherness.
What establishes the hero as other? At what point in the hero’s journey does the hero become other? Does the hero undergo a physical or mental transformation that results in his otherness? Is the hero othered from birth, or by preordained fate? Or is the hero metamorphosed into other through human experience, through conflict with or within his own society?
How does the social self perceive the hero other? Why does the social self feel both attraction and repulsion towards the hero other? How does the simultaneous attraction and repulsion that the social self feels towards the hero other influence the hero other and his journey? Does the audience, as witness to the hero’s journey, experience both attraction and repulsion towards the hero other parallel to that of the social self?
What is the role of violence in the journey of the hero other? Why does violence take such a prevalent role within the hero’s existence? Does this violence originate in the struggle between the hero other and the social self? For the hero other, does violence function as a means of survival or as a coping mechanism to confront the negative pressure of society’s repulsion towards him? Who is responsible for this violence – the hero other who chooses to lash out with violence or the social self who incites this violence through the oppression of the hero other?
Although the hero is universally other, does the hero simultaneously exist as self? In The Uncanny, Freud states that, “…a person may identify himself with another and so become unsure of his true self…” (142). What do these unstable boundaries of identity reveal about the social self and the hero other? Does the existence of the hero other jeopardize the stability of the social self? Does the social self’s instinct to suppress the hero other arise from the fear that the identity of the hero other will overwhelm the “norm”? Campbell asserts that, “…the hero is… a symbol… a revelation of the omnipotent Self, which dwells within us all” (319). Does the social self, as well as the audience, relate to or sympathize with the hero other because all members of society have experienced otherness in their lives?
In my exploration of these themes within “The Hero as Other,” I would like to analyze both hero others of Western traditions (Oedipus of Sophocles’s play Oedipus Rex, Dante the Pilgrim of Dante’s The Devine Comedy, Hamlet of William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, etc.) and hero others of Modern Japan (the narrator protagonist of Kenzaburo Oe’s novel Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids, Chiaki Saionji of Hakase Mizuki’s graphic novel The Demon Ororon, Shiina of Yoshihiro Nakamura’s film, The Foreign Duck, the Native Duck and God in a Coin Locker, etc.).
Since my expertise lies in Modern Japan (as in starting from the late 19th century Meiji period onwards), I would like to emphasize the hero protagonists of Modern Japan across various mediums (literature, film, graphic novel, etc.) while at the same time juxtapose these hero protagonists with those of classic Western origins, striking a balance of cultures, time periods, narrative mediums, etc.
Portrait of E. T. A. Hoffmann
Comics I Admire: “Quarterly Stories”
Today, I am pleased to present Joshua Kemble and his new online graphic novel Two Stories.
I stumbled across the website Quarterly Stories whilst on my search for autobiographical/non-fiction webcomics. I’m not sure how I came across this amazing work, but I sure am glad I did.
Two Stories is an autobiographical graphic novel that deals with themes of “…life, love, loss, and depression.” As far as I can tell, the novel will consist of a series of short stories that are all autobiographical, but will be presented in various styles, tones, and genres (“serious to silly”).
Not only are Josh’s illustrations absolutely stunning, full of texture and movement, but his storytelling is powerful and compelling. For this first chapter, it is not just a story of attempted suicide, but more astonishingly a step-by-step examination of the protagonist/author’s thought process — a complex mind that makes connections (from Shakespeare to It’s A Wonderful Life and back to reality) and plays tricks on itself (“The Suicide Game” on page 4).
Josh is a Xeric Award-winning cartoonist who works as a freelance illustrator as well as an adjunct professor at Laguna College of Art and Design. With such an impressive background and body of work, I’m expecting Two Stories to be quickly snatched up by publishers.
The following images belong to Joshua Kemble.
For more Quarterly Stories and Joshua Kemble, please check out the following websites…
quarterlystories.com
joshuakemble.com
www.facebook.com/pages/Joshua-Kemble-Illustrations/130292550362837
Store: joshuakemble.com/?page_id=241
Numb: www.amazon.com/Numb-Lost-Love-Broken-Memories/dp/B002O746WA
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Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas
12 comments | tags: Absolutely, Aesthetic, Amazing, Art, Artist, Artwork, Astonishing, Attempted, Author, Autobiographical, Autobiography, Award, Background, biography, Black, Black and White, Blizzard, Blog, Body, Book, Brainstorming, Cartoon, Cartoonist, Chapter, Character, Character Design, Coat, Cold, College, Comic book, Comics, Comment, Compelling, Consist, Creative, Creativity, Dark, Deals, Depression, Design, Doodle, Doodles, Drawing, Drawings, Endeavor, Examination, Examine, Expectations, Expecting, First, Freelance, Freezing, Genres, Gorgeous, Grant, Graphic Design, Graphic Novel, Handmade, Hero, Idea, Ideas, Illustration, Illustrator, Impressive, Ink, Inked, Josh, Joshua Kemble, Laguna College of Art and Design, LCAD, Life, Loss, Love, Movement, New, Non-Fiction, Notable, Note, Noteworthy, Novel, Pen, Pen and Ink, Pencil, Powerful, Present, Process, Professor, Project, Protagonist, Publish, Publisher, Publishers, Quickly, Search, Self-Publish, Sequential Art, Series, Serious, Short Stories, Short Story, Silly, Sketch, Sketchbook, Sketches, Snatched Up, Snow, Snowing, Step-by-Step, Storm, Story, Storyteller, Storytelling, Stunning, Style, Styles, Suicidal, Suicide, Texture, Theme, Themes, Thought, Tone, Tones, Trick, Tricks, Two Stories, University, Various, Vary, Web Comic, Webcomic, Winner, Winning, Work, Writer, Xeric | posted in Graphic Novel, Illustration/Design, Links