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Alec #5
The Fate of the Artist: Collector's Edition
In this pseudo-autobiography, the subject of the memoir has vanished without a trace. Through six separate threads, each on typographically and stylistically distinct, a private investigator tried to discover the artist's fate through false trails, family and daily life reenactments, and even an imaginary Sunday comic strip. As the narrative threads intersect and colllide in surprising ways, the reader is carried along on a fantastic journey through the life of the artist.
A master comics artist, here Eddie Campbell offers a complex, caustic, and surprising meditation on balancing the lonely life of the artist with the demands of everyday life.
A master comics artist, here Eddie Campbell offers a complex, caustic, and surprising meditation on balancing the lonely life of the artist with the demands of everyday life.
96 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2006
4 people are currently reading
229 people want to read
About the author
Eddie Campbell
297 books138 followersEddie Campbell is a British comics artist and cartoonist whose work has shaped the evolution of modern graphic storytelling. He is widely known as the illustrator and publisher of From Hell, his long collaboration with Alan Moore that reimagines the Jack the Ripper case through an ambitious and meticulously researched narrative. Campbell is also the creator of the long-running semi-autobiographical Alec series, later collected in Alec: The Years Have Pants, and the satirical adventure cycle Bacchus, which follows a handful of Greek gods who have wandered into the contemporary world. His scratchy pen-and-ink technique draws on impressionist influences and early masters of expressive line art, while his writing blends humor, candor, and literary ambition in a manner that critics have compared to Jack Kerouac and Henry Miller.
Campbell began developing autobiographical comics in the late 1970s before expanding the Alec stories throughout the following decades, publishing early instalments through small press networks in London and later with major independent publishers. After moving to Australia in the mid-1980s, he continued to produce both Alec and Bacchus stories while contributing to a range of international anthologies. His partnership with Moore on From Hell, initially serialised in the anthology Taboo, became one of the most acclaimed graphic novels of its era and further cemented his reputation for grounded, character-driven illustration.
Across a varied career Campbell has worked as a creator, editor, publisher, and occasional court illustrator. His contributions to comics have earned him numerous industry awards, including the Eisner Award, the Harvey Award, the Ignatz Award, the Eagle Award, and the UK Comic Art Award. He continues to produce new work while maintaining a strong presence in both literary and comics circles.
Campbell began developing autobiographical comics in the late 1970s before expanding the Alec stories throughout the following decades, publishing early instalments through small press networks in London and later with major independent publishers. After moving to Australia in the mid-1980s, he continued to produce both Alec and Bacchus stories while contributing to a range of international anthologies. His partnership with Moore on From Hell, initially serialised in the anthology Taboo, became one of the most acclaimed graphic novels of its era and further cemented his reputation for grounded, character-driven illustration.
Across a varied career Campbell has worked as a creator, editor, publisher, and occasional court illustrator. His contributions to comics have earned him numerous industry awards, including the Eisner Award, the Harvey Award, the Ignatz Award, the Eagle Award, and the UK Comic Art Award. He continues to produce new work while maintaining a strong presence in both literary and comics circles.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
April 11, 2007
Has Eddie Campbell lost his shit? Eddie Campbell has always been a sentimental favorite for me. I straight up ripped off his work for an AP Comp assignment in high school. He, along with Bukowski and Li Po, made me romanticize drinking before I ever drink, drank, drunk.
This book is a formal experiment, an attack on Scott McCloud's definition of comics, the detritus of an attempted History of Humor that he never completed, a prose/photo/comic assemblage, and, clearly, a total mess. But still charming as all hell. Definitely not for the uninitiated, but for Campbell fans it is well worth the read and possibly a cause for concern.
Going to scour the web for reviews and interviews. Going to re-read it and possibly upgrade to four stars. Going to buy the books of his (Alec & Bacchus) that I am missing.
This book is a formal experiment, an attack on Scott McCloud's definition of comics, the detritus of an attempted History of Humor that he never completed, a prose/photo/comic assemblage, and, clearly, a total mess. But still charming as all hell. Definitely not for the uninitiated, but for Campbell fans it is well worth the read and possibly a cause for concern.
Going to scour the web for reviews and interviews. Going to re-read it and possibly upgrade to four stars. Going to buy the books of his (Alec & Bacchus) that I am missing.
July 31, 2007
Cool and curious, this "autobiography" is more akin to an art installation by the late Joseph Beuys, e.g., or some of Beck's earlier compositions than it is to my ideas about story or even graphic novel. This is a book in pieces -- a bunch of interpolated yet recurring texts, comic strips, photo panels, watercolor scenes, sketches, interviews -- that have something to do with their maker, the artist Eddie Campbell.
It's a really cerebral, weird, and challenging experience. Read it, yeah, but read it in one sitting, because there's very little continuity here. Among the bits of prose and pictures, it's up to you to discern/discover the shifting portrait that Campbell (de)constructs.
It's a really cerebral, weird, and challenging experience. Read it, yeah, but read it in one sitting, because there's very little continuity here. Among the bits of prose and pictures, it's up to you to discern/discover the shifting portrait that Campbell (de)constructs.
July 31, 2014
A waning artist and his fate. It's a common story, I sense.
The most memorable thing about this is the mix of aesthetic styles (previewed on the cover). There are prose sections, comic sections, comic strip sections, more graphic novely bits, and at least one interview using photographs. And it does all blend seamlessly to tell one tale.
It just wasn't a particularly memorable tale. Insecure white male cartoonist who's getting older.
The most memorable thing about this is the mix of aesthetic styles (previewed on the cover). There are prose sections, comic sections, comic strip sections, more graphic novely bits, and at least one interview using photographs. And it does all blend seamlessly to tell one tale.
It just wasn't a particularly memorable tale. Insecure white male cartoonist who's getting older.
September 22, 2007
I was excited to read this book and the interesting mixed media approachit used (combination of comics, photos, text, illustrations), and saw potentially something mind-blowingly awesome.
But the more I read, the less I got the plotline and deeper meanings that Eddie Campbell was trying to get across, and eventually, I put the book down.
But the more I read, the less I got the plotline and deeper meanings that Eddie Campbell was trying to get across, and eventually, I put the book down.
March 20, 2010
This guy will make you fall in love with the way a comic artists' mind works.
July 23, 2012
You can examine your life a bit too closely, and you can make the mistake of thinking other people will care about what you find.
July 2, 2025
Eddie Campbell's books and I don't click. And I really want to click with Eddie Campbell's books!
Campbell's art is fantastic. His scratchy, sketchy style is catnip to me, and his subtle variations of style in this book provide a heterogeneity that weirdly ties the book together as a visual object worth perusing. His use of muted colors is so appealing. Every page is gorgeous.
But the art is, of course, just one half of a comic book. Even if a comic book is wordless, it contains a story (however abstract that story might be). That's what makes it a comic book and not a collection of random images.
And Campbell's story, in The Fate of the Artist, is fleeting. After finishing it, I couldn't tell you what it's about. Even as I was reading it, I probably couldn't have told you what it's about. Honestly, I suppose it's not "about" anything, really. It's a collection of strips (including some faux old-timey newspaper strips) and vignettes featuring Campbell and his family (or "actors" standing in for Campbell and his family--a trope whose purpose I did not understand).
I've read Alec: The Years Have Pants and The Lovely Horrible Stuff and I recall enjoying those books more than this one. Alec was also autobiographical but less postmodernly confounding. Lovely was a nonfiction treatise on money, which I found fascinating. Even so, none of these three books has had a lasting effect on my brain, and I have no desire--so far, anyway--to reread them. But I will, no doubt, want to flip through them from time to time, just to savor Campbell's line work. And we'll always have From Hell. . .
Campbell's art is fantastic. His scratchy, sketchy style is catnip to me, and his subtle variations of style in this book provide a heterogeneity that weirdly ties the book together as a visual object worth perusing. His use of muted colors is so appealing. Every page is gorgeous.
But the art is, of course, just one half of a comic book. Even if a comic book is wordless, it contains a story (however abstract that story might be). That's what makes it a comic book and not a collection of random images.
And Campbell's story, in The Fate of the Artist, is fleeting. After finishing it, I couldn't tell you what it's about. Even as I was reading it, I probably couldn't have told you what it's about. Honestly, I suppose it's not "about" anything, really. It's a collection of strips (including some faux old-timey newspaper strips) and vignettes featuring Campbell and his family (or "actors" standing in for Campbell and his family--a trope whose purpose I did not understand).
I've read Alec: The Years Have Pants and The Lovely Horrible Stuff and I recall enjoying those books more than this one. Alec was also autobiographical but less postmodernly confounding. Lovely was a nonfiction treatise on money, which I found fascinating. Even so, none of these three books has had a lasting effect on my brain, and I have no desire--so far, anyway--to reread them. But I will, no doubt, want to flip through them from time to time, just to savor Campbell's line work. And we'll always have From Hell. . .
July 10, 2024
TLDR: Eddie Campbell is very hard to live with.
I reread this because I am about to read The Second Fake Death of Eddie Campbell, the thematic sequel to this book. And this volume is weird and kinda good... The conceit is that Eddie has disappeared, and a private investigator is talking to his family to ferret out clues. We get (mostly) text pages from the POV of the investigator, fumetti pages with photographs of Hayley Campbell (Eddie's daughter) as she talks to the investigator, faux old time cartoon pages whose content refers to the domestic bliss (or usual lack of it) between Eddie and his wife, and the usual Campbell pages, either on his family life or pieces of art and music history.
In the midst of all this, you get TONS of stories about Eddie's obsessiveness, inattentiveness, hubris, and overbearing intellectualism (thus the summary up above) and supposed consequences of all that, including two allusions to a very physical fight between Eddie and his wife.
And the final result is... not very clear. Eddie gets quite vigorously slagged throughout the book, in a fashion that doesn't quite mesh with the more benign sense of distance I recall from earlier Alec books. It's often funny and then somewhat disturbing, and I can't do much better than that for an evaluation.
I reread this because I am about to read The Second Fake Death of Eddie Campbell, the thematic sequel to this book. And this volume is weird and kinda good... The conceit is that Eddie has disappeared, and a private investigator is talking to his family to ferret out clues. We get (mostly) text pages from the POV of the investigator, fumetti pages with photographs of Hayley Campbell (Eddie's daughter) as she talks to the investigator, faux old time cartoon pages whose content refers to the domestic bliss (or usual lack of it) between Eddie and his wife, and the usual Campbell pages, either on his family life or pieces of art and music history.
In the midst of all this, you get TONS of stories about Eddie's obsessiveness, inattentiveness, hubris, and overbearing intellectualism (thus the summary up above) and supposed consequences of all that, including two allusions to a very physical fight between Eddie and his wife.
And the final result is... not very clear. Eddie gets quite vigorously slagged throughout the book, in a fashion that doesn't quite mesh with the more benign sense of distance I recall from earlier Alec books. It's often funny and then somewhat disturbing, and I can't do much better than that for an evaluation.
July 8, 2017
I honestly did not understand most of this, and didn't really feel connected to Campbell in any way. Parts towards the end reminded me of
It's Such a Beautiful Day
, and I kind of enjoyed the slight poignancy, but as a whole I really wasn't into the lack of coherency.
Maybe fans of Campbell would enjoy this more, or maybe even those just familiar with his work, but I won't be picking up anything else of his anytime soon. I feel like whatever Campbell was going for was lost in the attempt, and even then, he seemed too caught up in himself to translate to the audience. Because he was telling a story that we've all heard before (from the perspective of a straight white man), and he wasn't telling it particularly well, there was nothing I got out of this work.
Maybe fans of Campbell would enjoy this more, or maybe even those just familiar with his work, but I won't be picking up anything else of his anytime soon. I feel like whatever Campbell was going for was lost in the attempt, and even then, he seemed too caught up in himself to translate to the audience. Because he was telling a story that we've all heard before (from the perspective of a straight white man), and he wasn't telling it particularly well, there was nothing I got out of this work.
March 22, 2018
Nobody should be allowed to do autobiographical comics except Campbell. He's set the bar too high, and frankly, everybody else is just kind of embarrassing themselves when compared to his books.
Fate is the "true" tale of artist Eddie Campbell's last days - he's gone missing and his wife (in mostly prose sections) and daughter (in most photographic sections) must answer questions about his character, associations, interests and what he was doing when he disappeared. It's totally hilarious.
Throw in plenty of short gag strips - poking fun at Campbell's home life, his "artistic indiosyncracies," and how pissed off his daughter gets when cooking - and a mix in Campbell's remarkable sense of multimedia art (extremely evocative characters, terrific comic timing, and unbeatable page compositions), and you've got one of the most rewarding and enjoyable books of the year.
Fate is the "true" tale of artist Eddie Campbell's last days - he's gone missing and his wife (in mostly prose sections) and daughter (in most photographic sections) must answer questions about his character, associations, interests and what he was doing when he disappeared. It's totally hilarious.
Throw in plenty of short gag strips - poking fun at Campbell's home life, his "artistic indiosyncracies," and how pissed off his daughter gets when cooking - and a mix in Campbell's remarkable sense of multimedia art (extremely evocative characters, terrific comic timing, and unbeatable page compositions), and you've got one of the most rewarding and enjoyable books of the year.
December 27, 2021
Read this many years ago; today was my second read.
And I definitely want to give this book away; who needs this book? No one springs to mind. It’s interesting to look at, but the story is boring. Who cares about the crazy, missing artist? Nobody.
I love multi genre literature; I liked many of the Honeybee comics as stand alone pieces. Enjoyed his daughter’s Joy Division tshirt; that image evokes a moment in my own story. But overall… I want to set this book free, send it to a human who might appreciate some aspect of it. I like the look and feel of this book more than I like the story. It might be fun to take a pair of scissors to it—make it part of another art project, make it into jewelry, something…
And I definitely want to give this book away; who needs this book? No one springs to mind. It’s interesting to look at, but the story is boring. Who cares about the crazy, missing artist? Nobody.
I love multi genre literature; I liked many of the Honeybee comics as stand alone pieces. Enjoyed his daughter’s Joy Division tshirt; that image evokes a moment in my own story. But overall… I want to set this book free, send it to a human who might appreciate some aspect of it. I like the look and feel of this book more than I like the story. It might be fun to take a pair of scissors to it—make it part of another art project, make it into jewelry, something…
December 31, 2021
“Crash, r o a r , smash, PLungE.
The artist’s journey finishes with him washed ashore on the desert island of his own mental isolation.
He wanders around in a state of despair, talking to the fauna. There is an odd plant with a distinctive smell that reminds him of a very old book he once owned.” (p. 59)
“What interested him was the idea that when we appreciate a joke across the centuries, time may appear to fall away, and we can create the illusion, and we must never forget that it is but an illusion, of communicating with the past.” (p. 63)
The artist’s journey finishes with him washed ashore on the desert island of his own mental isolation.
He wanders around in a state of despair, talking to the fauna. There is an odd plant with a distinctive smell that reminds him of a very old book he once owned.” (p. 59)
“What interested him was the idea that when we appreciate a joke across the centuries, time may appear to fall away, and we can create the illusion, and we must never forget that it is but an illusion, of communicating with the past.” (p. 63)
July 13, 2022
This is definitely an experimental piece, so it may not be for everyone. A series of short, disconnected pieces, surrounding Eddie Campbell, his family, and artistic views. The action jumps from strip style, to prose, to photographs with word bubbles, and back again. There are multiple[le ways to ingest this volume. My favorite one is to real the similar style types all together, but this means going back and forth in the book. The best part however lies at the end with graphic interpretation of an old O. Henry short story.
August 24, 2024
It's like fine. The spaghetti panels in the bottom tier of p48 is the best part. It's like good - but like doesn't move me at all. Feels like some Alan Moore high concept whatever that would hang together more if I poured over it, but that's not the level I want to operate at right now. Somehow I'm surprisingly not annoyed - this type of Chris Ware self-deprecation is annoying but the Alan Moore vibe isn't played off as arch - maybe more like a bit goofy or not taking itself seriously? Or maybe it was just a fast easy read. It was solid. Spaghetti panels great
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 12, 2022
Creo que este libro no es para todo el mundo. Te llega a entretener, pero te puede resultar un poco confuso, yo diría que su género debe de ser non-sense.
La historia se cuenta en cuatro formas diferentes y puede resultar un poco confuso, entiendo que sea para innovar la novela gráfica, al ser ese el objetivo si se ha logrado.La parte del cómic de Cielito me ha gustado mucho.
Un libro corto con un humor un poco absurdo, pero es muy ligero de leer.
La historia se cuenta en cuatro formas diferentes y puede resultar un poco confuso, entiendo que sea para innovar la novela gráfica, al ser ese el objetivo si se ha logrado.La parte del cómic de Cielito me ha gustado mucho.
Un libro corto con un humor un poco absurdo, pero es muy ligero de leer.
April 2, 2019
Although frequently opaque and sometimes a bit too clever for me, I found the graphic experimentation and spirit of 'The Fate of the Artist' to be refreshing and inspiring. Probably not the ideal work to dive into Campbell, but nonetheless I'm grateful to have stumbled into his world. Now have a number of follow-ups on my to-read shelf.
October 1, 2018
An honest eccentric rouse, perhaps an experiment by the author. It works for me, and on the whole, I enjoyed it for what it is. Could have rounded off better in the last 5th, but makes up for it in imagination and a good blend of approaches.
Woody Hayday
Woody Hayday
July 12, 2019
The problem with living with an artist is figuring out we are a little psychotic sometimes. This book is hilarious, if you live with an artist you need to read this..if you are planning on marrying an artist, read this and be forewarned.
September 16, 2020
The world’s greatest graphic novelist is a Queenslander – via his native Scotland – and this book in which he investigates his own mysterious disappearance is a masterpiece about art, creation, and the dubious business of story-robbing one’s own life and loved ones in the name of storytelling.
Want to read
September 26, 202509.26.2025: another Graph Novel NY Times recommendation that I purchased; extremely low GoodReads ratings of 3.3 w. <500 reviews that I purchased in honor of our deceased son who loved Graph Novels (me, not so much)...yikes...;
October 30, 2017
1 point for being murdered and body filed in poetry section in Library
1 point for uselessness of work
1 point for uselessness of work
November 16, 2017
Funny stuff. Definitely not the usual graphic novel.
September 25, 2018
This one was just not for me.
May 5, 2020
An interesting multi-stylistic graphic novel. The Honeybee comics were very enjoyable.
July 30, 2007
Sang seniman, bernama Eddie Campbell, tiba-tiba merasa muak pada karya-karyanya, dirinya sendiri, dan para penggemarnya. Sehingga pada suatu hari ia menghilang begitu saja. Seorang detektif yg bertugas menyelidiki hilangnya sang seniman memulai pencariannya di kediaman Campbell dengan mewawancarai istri dan anak perempuan Campbell yg tertua, Hayley. Demikianlah buku ini dimulai, berbentuk prosa yang dituturkan oleh si detektif; ditampilkan dalam teks yang diselingi ilustrasi kecil di sana-sini.
Narasi si detektif ini merupakan alur utama kisah dalam buku ini. Sebagai selingannya, terdapat kisah2 pendamping dan beberapa kilas balik, yang ditampilkan dalam berbagai bentuk: bentuk pertama adalah berupa panel2 gambar bersekuel (komik). Dalam panel2 komik ini, Eddie Campbell 'diperankan' oleh seorang aktor bernama Richard Siegrist. Bentuk kedua merupakan sebuah wawancara terpisah dengan Hayley (interviewer: unknown) ditampilkan dalam bentuk urut2an montage foto Hayley di sebuah café; ucapan2 Hayley berupa balon kata2 yg ditik rapih. Dalam wawancara ini Hayley menceritakan proses unik ayahnya dalam berkreasi dan berkehidupan sehari2. Bentuk ketiga adalah (seolah2) guntingan komikstrip pendek (2-3 panel) dari surat kabar: seri Honeybee yg menampilkan suka-duka sepasang suami-istri (kombinasi dumb husband/snarky wife), seri Angry Cook yg bertokoh utama Hayley (yg selalu gusar saat menyiapkan makanan/minuman), dan cuplikan2 komikstrip lepas lain - termasuk strip bertema metanarasi, misalkan saat Siegrist diberi pengarahan saat memerankan Campbell di depan kamera. Untuk meyakinkan bahwa benar2 dari guntingan surat kabar tua, strip2 pendek tsb disajikan di atas warna kertas yg kekuningan, disertai potongan artikel dan sebagian kotak2 TTS. Tidak hanya itu, strip ini pun berkembang dari bentuk pendek (2-3 panel, hitam putih) hingga menjadi "Sunday page" (satu halaman penuh, berwarna), dan sempat mengajak para pembaca koran bereaksi supaya komik dapat dipertahankan terbit. Di akhir buku, terdapat sebuah komik 'ekstra' berjudul The confessions of a humorist, dengan tokoh utama.. Eddie Campbell sendiri(!).
[...]
The Fate of The Artist ini bisa dibilang sebagai karya autobiografi Campbell yang terbaik. Berbeda dengan seri Alec yang hitam-putih, buku ini menampilkan lebih banyak warna dan campuran teknik, dari pewarnaan manual, hingga kolase foto dan ilustrasi yg tersusun secara harmonis dengan teks. Melalui buku ini pula pembaca bisa mengenal Campbell tidak hanya sebagai seniman dan komikus ("A. Humorist" - yg adalah tanda tangan pembuat komikstrip Honeybee), tapi juga sebagai kepala keluarga. Dari buku ini pula pembaca bisa mendapat lebih banyak lagi kesan tentang seorang Eddie Campbell. Ia mungkin berada di mana dirinya sekarang berada, berkat attitude-nya yang unik tsb, yang sebenarnya tidak membuat hidupnya lebih mudah, dan tidak jarang pula merepotkan orang2 terdekatnya.
Selengkapnya ada di [http://esduren.multiply.com/reviews/i...]
Narasi si detektif ini merupakan alur utama kisah dalam buku ini. Sebagai selingannya, terdapat kisah2 pendamping dan beberapa kilas balik, yang ditampilkan dalam berbagai bentuk: bentuk pertama adalah berupa panel2 gambar bersekuel (komik). Dalam panel2 komik ini, Eddie Campbell 'diperankan' oleh seorang aktor bernama Richard Siegrist. Bentuk kedua merupakan sebuah wawancara terpisah dengan Hayley (interviewer: unknown) ditampilkan dalam bentuk urut2an montage foto Hayley di sebuah café; ucapan2 Hayley berupa balon kata2 yg ditik rapih. Dalam wawancara ini Hayley menceritakan proses unik ayahnya dalam berkreasi dan berkehidupan sehari2. Bentuk ketiga adalah (seolah2) guntingan komikstrip pendek (2-3 panel) dari surat kabar: seri Honeybee yg menampilkan suka-duka sepasang suami-istri (kombinasi dumb husband/snarky wife), seri Angry Cook yg bertokoh utama Hayley (yg selalu gusar saat menyiapkan makanan/minuman), dan cuplikan2 komikstrip lepas lain - termasuk strip bertema metanarasi, misalkan saat Siegrist diberi pengarahan saat memerankan Campbell di depan kamera. Untuk meyakinkan bahwa benar2 dari guntingan surat kabar tua, strip2 pendek tsb disajikan di atas warna kertas yg kekuningan, disertai potongan artikel dan sebagian kotak2 TTS. Tidak hanya itu, strip ini pun berkembang dari bentuk pendek (2-3 panel, hitam putih) hingga menjadi "Sunday page" (satu halaman penuh, berwarna), dan sempat mengajak para pembaca koran bereaksi supaya komik dapat dipertahankan terbit. Di akhir buku, terdapat sebuah komik 'ekstra' berjudul The confessions of a humorist, dengan tokoh utama.. Eddie Campbell sendiri(!).
[...]
The Fate of The Artist ini bisa dibilang sebagai karya autobiografi Campbell yang terbaik. Berbeda dengan seri Alec yang hitam-putih, buku ini menampilkan lebih banyak warna dan campuran teknik, dari pewarnaan manual, hingga kolase foto dan ilustrasi yg tersusun secara harmonis dengan teks. Melalui buku ini pula pembaca bisa mengenal Campbell tidak hanya sebagai seniman dan komikus ("A. Humorist" - yg adalah tanda tangan pembuat komikstrip Honeybee), tapi juga sebagai kepala keluarga. Dari buku ini pula pembaca bisa mendapat lebih banyak lagi kesan tentang seorang Eddie Campbell. Ia mungkin berada di mana dirinya sekarang berada, berkat attitude-nya yang unik tsb, yang sebenarnya tidak membuat hidupnya lebih mudah, dan tidak jarang pula merepotkan orang2 terdekatnya.
Selengkapnya ada di [http://esduren.multiply.com/reviews/i...]
February 15, 2008
Wow - what a strange and beautiful book. I have the feeling that I'd enjoy it a lot more if I'd been a voracious reader of graphic novels all along (there seem to be in-jokes) - but the language and writing is phenomenal and thought provoking and the layout is close to brilliant. I will probably be done with this one by the end of the weekend so more (including rating) tk.
Just finished this. I rated it 4 because 5 would put it up there with On the Road, but easily it's one of the best graphic novels I've ever read. It makes me want to read more Eddie Campbell too... fortunately I have another one of his books.
The book is basically about an artist trying to justify doing the art thing. To everyone around him and to himself primarily. And as a result it's a look at what drives the artist, and what the artist is after (hint: it has to do with alligning your life with your ideals - isn't that Platonic?)... It's self-absorbed (duh) but still, probably the least pretentious book I've ever read that includes a conversation with "God". Seriously.
Just finished this. I rated it 4 because 5 would put it up there with On the Road, but easily it's one of the best graphic novels I've ever read. It makes me want to read more Eddie Campbell too... fortunately I have another one of his books.
The book is basically about an artist trying to justify doing the art thing. To everyone around him and to himself primarily. And as a result it's a look at what drives the artist, and what the artist is after (hint: it has to do with alligning your life with your ideals - isn't that Platonic?)... It's self-absorbed (duh) but still, probably the least pretentious book I've ever read that includes a conversation with "God". Seriously.
August 8, 2013
Eddie Campbell offers an odd take on the concept of biography. Writing as if he has disappeared, Campbell uses collage, typography, photography, doodles, and newspaper strips to catalog the history of himself as seen through others. Each chapter takes a fictional detective deeper into the mindset of a visual and linguistic artist. A photo interview with Hayley Campbell about her father's viewpoints shows how similar and different family can be. Discussions with the wife in cartoon style reveal how the world of the artistic mind can have trouble dealing with reality. As the detective comes closer to unraveling the mystery, the reader gets closer to understanding the legacy Eddie Campbell wants to leave behind. The true fate of the artist rests in the hands of the reader. A quirky book to be sure, but one of the better takes on being an artist on the shelves today.
November 30, 2013
Eddie Campbell's pseudo-autobiography. Full of different types of graphic novel - comic -type stuff: real pictures of his daughter with word bubbles, fake newspaper strips, watercolors with drawings paper clipped to them. Regular typed prose.
The premise is that this autobiography contains no appearance of the author himself. It's kind of like Hemingway's TRUE short stories, I suppose. Half way through it I was pretty enamored with the book, but at the end the momentum of the thing kind of got lost. I think that's not a fault of the story telling or of the drawing, though. I think Campbell was going for that kind of meandering mundane sort of narrative.
It was good. Three stars instead of 4 or 5 simply because the genre and narrative I didn't find that gripping, but I don't think I was the target audience. It's definitely worth reading if you like odd graphic novels.
The premise is that this autobiography contains no appearance of the author himself. It's kind of like Hemingway's TRUE short stories, I suppose. Half way through it I was pretty enamored with the book, but at the end the momentum of the thing kind of got lost. I think that's not a fault of the story telling or of the drawing, though. I think Campbell was going for that kind of meandering mundane sort of narrative.
It was good. Three stars instead of 4 or 5 simply because the genre and narrative I didn't find that gripping, but I don't think I was the target audience. It's definitely worth reading if you like odd graphic novels.
June 17, 2017
The Fate of the Artist by Eddie Campbell explores multiple themes (an artist's work, the life of the mind, family dynamics), all while deconstructing the narrative of a person's life: what would the ingredients of an individual's autobiography be?
He tackles these themes through a non-linear approach, with six interwoven threads, each distinct stylistically, with varying art, typography, tone.
If you do pick this one up (and you should, it's a pretty interesting ride, unless of course you're particularly wary of attempts at postmodernism in a graphic novel), do note that this is best enjoyed when consumed all in one sitting.
He tackles these themes through a non-linear approach, with six interwoven threads, each distinct stylistically, with varying art, typography, tone.
If you do pick this one up (and you should, it's a pretty interesting ride, unless of course you're particularly wary of attempts at postmodernism in a graphic novel), do note that this is best enjoyed when consumed all in one sitting.
January 20, 2011
In The Fate of the Artist Eddie Campbell tries out a whole host of half-baked ideas: an investigation into his own disappearance told in prose, comic scenes from his life (but with his own part played by an actor), little snippets from imagined newspaper funnies, and odd digressions into art and music history. Sound confusing? It is. That's not to say that The Fate of the Artist doesn't have its enjoyable moments. We still get the whimsical look at his home life that makes the Alec comics so endearing, but unfortunately the experimental form of the book detracts from that more often than adds to it.
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