| Apr ’14 |
| 19 |
| 7:00 pm |
We are living in a golden age of cartoon art. Never before has graphic storytelling been so prominent or garnered such respect: critics and readers alike agree that contemporary cartoonists are creating some of the most innovative and exciting work in all the arts.
For nearly a decade Hillary L. Chute has been sitting down for extensive interviews with the leading figures in comics, and with Outside the Box: Interviews With Contemporary Cartoonists (University of Chicago | 272 pages | 39 color plates, 31 halftones | 7 x 10) she offers readers a chance to share her ringside seat. Chute’s in-depth discussions with twelve of the most accomplished artists and writers in comics today reveal a creative community that is richly interconnected yet fiercely independent, its members sharing many interests while working with wildly different styles and themes. Chute’s subjects run the gamut of contemporary comics practice, from those of underground pioneers like Art Spiegelman and Lynda Barry, to the analytic work of Scott McCloud, the journalism of Joe Sacco, and the extended narratives of Alison Bechdel and Charles Burns. They reflect on their experience and innovations, the influence of peers and mentors, the reception of their art and the growth of critical attention, and the crucial place of print amid the encroachment of the digital age.
“This is a book of great interviews with great cartoonists. The interviews are great because Hillary Chute is great. She knows how cartooning works and she intimately knows the work of the artists she’s interviewing. The interviews are smart, insightful, and very readable. This isn’t dry stuff nor is it fluffy. It’s the real stuff. Anyone interested in the minds of today’s cartooning masters will want to read it.” –Seth, author of Palookaville
Hillary L. Chute is the Neubauer Family Assistant Professor of English at the University of Chicago and the author of Graphic Women: Life Narrative and Contemporary Comics.
For more info:
Levi Stahl, promotions director, University of Chicago Press; lstahl(at)press(dot)uchicago.edu or 773 702 0289.
Sat, Apr 19th, 7pm – Free Event
