Talking Lines: The Graphic Stories of R. O. Blechman

by R.O. Blechman, Seth (Introduction)

A collection of graphic narratives from one of the most influential and respected visual artists of the past half century

Talking Lines is the first-ever comprehensive collection of the work of R. O. Blechman, one of the most prolific and influential visual artists of the twentieth century. His graphic stories are at once jocular, wry, and profound. Blechman ruminates on such various topics as nuclear weapons, war, wiretapping, Christopher Columbus, Leo Tolstoy, William Shakespeare, and Virginia Woolf. His stories have appeared in the seminal magazine Humbug (edited by Harvey Kurtzman), The Nation , Nozone (edited by his son, Nicholas Blechman), The New York Times , and The New York Times Book Review . Blechman is a modern master of all things visual whose timeless intellect and stripped-down artistry propels his nonstop relevancy. He is one of the few artists who has been able to balance the commercial and the artistic. In his polished and unparalleled career, he has been heralded as one of the great cartoonists, the author of one of the first modern graphic novels, an Emmy and Cannes Film Festival award-winning animator with a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, a Hall of Fame art director, and even a blogger for The Huffington Post .

Genres: Comics, Humor, Graphic Novels

289 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Parka · Rating 3 out of 5]

(More pictures at parkablogs.com)

Looking at those short congratulatory praises on the back cover just makes me go "Seriously?", "In a class by himself," says The New York Times. Seriously? Well, there's another way of interpreting that line though.

I don't question the story, the squiggly lines which are claimed as "minimalist, tembling, even hesitant, manage to express a universe of uncommon perfection." I just don't find them funny by newspaper-comic standards, nor striking compared to political cartoons. If a statement is trying to be made, then I can't remember anything distinct as I'm writing this review, except that it's not exciting.

It's not a book to be read in one sitting. The squiggly hand written font are exhausting to read. And every story probably needs some time to digest, that's if you can digest in the first place.

There's this story of Columbus (pg 86) demonstrating to a king that the world is round with and egg. Impressed by presentation, the king gave him three boats. Months later when Columbus returned, he was sent to prison by the king because he had food poisoning from eating the egg presented earlier.

Another one's about some strange abbey that baked some terrific bread. It became so famous their bread went global. Several younger monks decided to form a new bakery, but no one could remember the recipe. End of story.

And then there's Georgie, the story of a man, his dog and a pin. Basically about how a pin changed a man's life, drawn and told in one small cartoon per big blank page, for 108 pages. I'm not sure what's the point the small size of the comic on each page is trying to tell me.

Basically, the stories lack punch.

Blechman might have had his comic strips graced magazines like The New Yorker, but I guess those audiences have a particular taste.

So this wasn't really an engaging book for me. Truth be told, I struggled to finish reading it.

[Mza · Rating 4 out of 5]

... little lines creep up on you ... Is satire a lower aim than poetry? Both are here, fighting each other for space ...... and there's a lot of space ............ enormous blank cosmos ...... gently but decisively interrupted by these little lines ... that squiggle ...... in the same way that transparent little threads migrate across my field of vision ... invisible when I'm not paying attention ... never sitting still when I am paying attention ............ Blechman's drawings -- you always want to call them "little drawings" -- vibrate. I don't see his pleasure in these drawings ... not the way you see animal pleasure in a violent artist like Milt Gross or Jack Kirby. It's more like ...... walking ... than dancing. They could rename this book Walking Lines ............ lines that walk around ...... and sniff around ...... for evidence ... of other lines ...

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I enjoyed some of the stories more a second time, some I enjoyed less. There's some really smart stuff here, and D&Q did a great job designing the book. It's beautiful.

[J.T. Davidson]

poignant, engaging and wistful takes on heavy subjects from a unique slant that makes you think

[Wayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those great books that takes less than an hour to read, but you're still satisfied when you're finished. R.O. Blechman is his name and minimalist art is his game. It's almost stick figures square done by somebody with a bad case of the shakes, but it still works. Very imaginative, fun strips that have surely influenced many people. Very cool.

[Kamakana · Rating 3 out of 5]

okay. short. poetic. spare.