‘A GOOD CARTOONIST HAS HEMINGWAY'S BUILT-IN SHIT DETECTOR'
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Rebel wi h a cause
BOB LEVIN has chronicled the social deviants and offbeat oddballs of the US comics scene. Miles Fielder finds a man revelling in unfettered expression.
hcn Bob l.c\‘in was a kid hc uscd to sncak
over to a t’ricnd‘s housc to rcad comic
books. llis loyc affair with tau/r o/‘l/m‘rm'. ('rimc Sus/u'n.S'Im'ics. 'Iii'u-l'isrr'r/ 'l'u/r's‘ and othcr transgi‘cssiyc li(' (‘omics titlcs that graphically combincd horror and scx camc to an cnd whcn. in thc squarc 1950s. thc L'S goycrnmcnt killcd ot'l‘ thc linc. In the (ills Icyin lcl‘t l’hiladclphia l‘or San l"i';iiic'isc'o. whcrc hc turncd on. tuncd in but didn't drop out. lnstcad. hc bccamc a workcrs‘ rights lawycr. a practicc hc maintains today. In thc latc b’lls hc rcignitcd his old loyc. this timc around with thc cycn morc transgrcssiyc undcrground comics. [laying prol‘ilcd thcir social dcyiant crcators l‘or altnost 2t) ycars. his ol‘lbcat. hcartl‘clt and oltcn hilarious articlcs hayc now bccn collcctcd in thc cyocatiycly titlcd ()uI/un's. Rchc/s. l’rr'r'I/iinkr'rs' & Pirates.
‘1 had bccn this writcr w hosc storics and cssays would gct 15. 2(). 30 rcjcctions bcl‘orc. il‘ thcy w crc lucky. appcaring in sonic journal which paid nothing and which no onc rcad.‘ l.c\'in notcs. ‘()nc day. l dccidcd to writc an articlc about thcsc comics which had obscsscd mc sincc l was a kid. 'I‘lir' (‘omir's .lUllI‘IlU/ publishcd it. l)cspitc not haying rcad a comic book in 3()-plus ycars. l wrotc anothcr articlc and thcy printcd that. So I startcd rcading comics and writing articlcs and cnjoying it. I found I could usc my articlcs to say whatcycr I wantcd about art or Inc and it sccmcd to mc that thcy kcpt gctting bcttcr and bcttcr and morc and morc proyocatiy c. Soon I had pcoplc who loycd my articlcs and pcoplc who hatcd thcm: what morc could a writcr want‘."
'l‘hc cartoonists prolilcd in ()lx’l’tk‘ [’5' also proyokc a loyc/halc rcsponsc to thcir art and in lil'c. Mason
Crumb. Robcrt's brothcr. draws picturcs ol~ mutant and mutilatcd womcn lpicturcd). whilc in thc rcal world he likcs to cop an illicit l‘ccl of thc l‘cmalc l‘orm. S Clay Wilson draws dcmons with giant distcndcd dongs. and finds inspiration in a San lirancisco bar aptly named Dick‘s. 'l‘hc outrc yisions and cxtrcmc contcnt of these undcrground comics challcngc thc most liberal scnsibility but. as Lcyin cloqucntly argucs. thcrc‘s also grcat yaluc in thcir unl‘cttcrcd cxprcssion.
'(‘omics can bc a way to bc cntcrtaincd. amuscd. cxcitcd. cducatcd. moycd and shown the world in a dil'l'crcnt way. Likc S (‘lay Wilson said in 1968. “You can do anything in a comic book." 01' course. with him. it didn‘t gct much beyond blow jobs and chopping dicks oil with cutlasscs. but still . . . ' What makcs a good cartoonist. Lcyin rcckons. is ‘yision. balls. intclligcncc. wit. Hemingway‘s built-in shit dctcctor. plus thc skill to wrcstlc all thosc qualities into a form that mmcs a rcadcr‘.
l.cyin‘s passionatc about thcsc oddball outsidcrs. Askcd to rccount a l'ayouritc anccdotc. he says: ‘l’robably thc most ol’l‘bcat person I prot‘ilcd was Mason (‘rumb lipilcptic. ascctic to thc point of self- harm. scxually twistcd. a practitioner of rcligious disciplincs that makc onc gulp. Anyway. I dccidcd he might bc a good person to illtistratc onc of my much- rcjcctcd noycls. a black comcdy. which my thcn agcnt had tcrmcd "morbid. rcpcllcnt. dcprcssing and grim". l scnt him a couplc ol' chaptcrs and hc wrotc back: "You arc monumcntally l'uckcd up." I plan to run that on lltc coycr.‘
Outlaws, Rebels, Freethinkers & Pirates is out now published by Fantagraphics.
>i= Jackie Kay Why do we hide our true selves away when all it does is hurt those around us? That's what the special Kay is wondering in her new poetry collection. Life Mask. See review. Bloodaxe.
ti: Stephen Elliot A brutal Chicago childhood is the basis for Happy Baby. a Dave Eggers~edited debut which was both acclaimed and assaulted in the US. See review. Picador. ti: Bob Levin The aptly named Outlaws, Rebels, Freethinkers & Pirates is a bunch of musings on the US underground comic world. See preview. Fantagraphics.
=l~’ Malcy Duff He’s probably being a bit hard on himself with / Can 't Draw: Part 2. The local lad gives us a meditation on creativity and an analysis of communication. See review. Giant Tank.
=3: Blll Willingham and Mark Buckingham What would life be like if fairy tale legends were actually walking among us? Fab/es: The Mean Seasons wildly speculates. See review. Titan/DC.
ti: Edinburgh Independent Radical Book Fair More fascinating talks and debates for those with a conscience as the likes of James Kelman. Meaghan Delahunt and Zoe Strachan (pictured) entertain and inform. See Around Town, page 32. Assembly Rooms. Edinburgh, Thu 12-Sun 75 May. a: The Space You’re Not In John Byrne, Liz Lochhead. Alasdair Gray, Belle & Sebastian and Arab Strap are among those performing songs and poems influenced by the late Glasgow writer and actress, Gail Wylie. Oran Mor. Glasgow, Sat 74 May.
'3 xiii i‘~."..r, Jodi: THE LIST 33