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CLYDE FANS Book 1
by Seth
($19.95,
Drawn and Quarterly)
Review by Sean McGurr
Canadian cartoonist Seth's newest book,
Clyde Fans Book 1, is as unlikely of a graphic novel as you might expect to come across. The first half of the book, set in 1997, is a running monologue by Abraham Matchcard, an old man who used to work for Clyde Fans. His main topic of discussion is selling, but he digresses about his life, his brother, his town and numerous other rambles. Throughout, he shuffles about his apartment and the offices of Clyde Fans. Not much happens (he eats, goes to bathroom, showers, moves boxes around), but it is almost impossible to put down.
The second half takes the reader back to 1957 as Abraham's brother, Simon, prepares to go on his first sales trip as a middle-aged man. We've already heard Abe comment on what an odd bird Simon is and how his life was different from Abe's, but it isn't until meeting him ourselves that we get a sense of who he is. Other than some failed sales calls, following Simon is much more eventful than following Simon. Yet, Seth's storytelling ability easily captures the reader's interest and attention.
Seth is currently editing
The Complete Peanuts (Fantagraphics) and it is easy to see the influence of Charles Schulz on his work in both the subject matter and art. Deceptively simple, Seth's characters have a melancholy about them. Not because of any single major event or issue, but because of the simple, everyday moments that we all face with varying degrees of success. While both Schulz and Seth tend to focus on glum characters, their stories are immensely readable.
Seth's style recalls Schulz and
New Yorker cartoonists (see his
It's a Good Life If You Don't Weaken book for that story). He has a clean line and his use of blue tone on off-white paper adds to the feel of the book. This is an important point as Seth often lingers on a panel or a page with wordless and characterless views of everyday items. While these scenes don't add much to the narrative, they do flesh out the mood of the book and at the same time raises them to important elements that need to be studied. There probably isn't a current better cartoonist at doing this than Seth. I'm looking forward to the concluding book.
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