Clyde Fans

BEAUTIFUL. HEARTBREAKING. REAL. Two Brothers. A business. Pain. Sumptuous, Precise, Clean-line illustration. What can one say about the truly inimitable Seth -- one of the finest sequential ARTISTS striding this globe, mighty pen, and ever-clean-line, in hand, today? Truly, here, in “Clyde Fans,” we take a deep, sonorous—for even its main characters’ speech patterns befit life's uncanny music in internal monologue, dialogue, and soliloquy of the uncompromising sort that lays the heart bare…without giving way to cloying cliché, and absent the tempting sugarcoating of tough reality, as two brothers who seemingly could not be less alike attend, across years, to their father’s electric fan business, first dying, and then soon dead, due to the upstart advent of affordable air-conditioning units, with their father’s considerable misapprehension that such units would never prosper and flower…. The fan itself is a kind of art object now, as evidenced by my favorite collectors, Mike and Frank, of History Channel’s “American Pickers,” who recently mined the work of a fan connoisseur—for such things, indeed, exist, in the same way Robert Crumb doted on old Vinyl, and I cannot sacrifice comics and books and toys, items I share with my children to tell the story of, in my case, an America, passed. In “Clyde Fans,” I gratefully land on subject matter generally regarded, or one may presume, as anathema, to the comics medium, saturated with its spandex heroes. The towns housing fan stores, and shoe repair stores, and privately owned VHS shops, reveal a Main Street—here, in Seth’s work—in Canada, that makes me want to move away from chains and superstores, no matter the price losses. But Seth’s unflinching sensitivity to both what makes for great art as well as what makes a great human reserves his nostalgia for the factories and towns, the lost diners, and simple general stores—he has even reconstructed a town that went on display in a San Francisco (?) art gallery, I believe. He seems to like “star anchors,” and sound brick buildings the way I do—which is also to say he in unafraid to show the brothers’ broken relationships: with one a salesman who does not enjoy people, and the other a neurotic, troubled “younger brother,” in the parlance of “The Parable of the Two Brothers,” a man in search of a calling who never escapes his older brother’s suffocating, controlling nature, with his declarative statements, “I do not believe you are ready (or will prosper) for sales.” Painful. It can be hard seeing the younger brother, so fascinated with a certain kind of unique postcard that the book he writes about this odd medium only to abandon it -- is his one true self-expression, and still he never sees it blossom into that which could have, perhaps, saved some part of his soul ... his yearning .. his needs. The clean-line illustration, the exactitude of the rendering—this is where Seth makes me very happy. Happy I found his work. Thank you, Seth.

Some people say a picture says a thousand words. Fair enough, however with Seth you would have to double that. In the print media we have seen many classics especially in the standard printed novel media. Many literature classics as the big fat novels written by Charles Dickens seem to take forever to develop a plot and to reach a viable and entertaining conclusion. Other writers such as Hemingway are able to make short work with their prose and are to be commended. In Seth's graphic depiction of Clyde Fans Book One, we see the very best of all print media. Seth divides his work into two sections. The first book introduces the reader to Clyde Fans Company in 1997 through the narration of Abraham Matchcard and Seth's haunting graphic depiction of the old Company offices, apartment and city scenes. In utilizing old man Abraham ,Seth does remind me of what Thorton Wilder utilized in the use of the Stage Manager in his three act play "Our Town". Seth's prose and graphic scenes of Book One sets the scene for the subsequent Book Two set 40 years before in 1957 with the actions of his brother Simon . With Seth many of his scenes don't even need words, the graphic depictions hauntingly tell the story. This brings up another media comparison with Seth. His graphics are the best of all in the graphic novel genre. His background scenes of 1957 make you think you were living in that era. In fact his graphic illustrations can be compared to Edward Hopper. It's not that his art is like Hopper's but he brings the sense of isolation, loneliness and deep thought in all his illustrations. This sense of graphic illustration involves deep thought which emanates from the talented pen of Seth. I am looking forward to Book 2 of Clyde Fans. Seth sets the standard of all graphic novelists/artists. 10 Stars!! No Problem!!!

Just got this today, earlier than I thought it was going to arrive ,and the book is in beautiful shape.

If you've never read Seth before, this is a great place to start. Clyde Fans is a deep, thoughtful story about a family business, well, about the family as much as the business. It took Seth years and years (and years) to complete this tome. We are fortunate to be alive to see it in this amazing deluxe hardcover edition. Calling it gorgeous would be a disservice and an understatement. I would argue that Seth is the most important cartoonist of the last fifty years. His work is simply that good, and the stories he tells are treasures to behold. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

A gorgeous graphic novel by Seth [http://www.drawnandquarterly.com/artStudio.php?artist=a3dff7dd55a576], this first volume of a two volume collection follows a man as he reflects on his career and his family as the booming industrial and civic entrepreneurship era expands in Palookaville (his beautiful and original shining city). It is beautifully illustrated and produced as a gorgeous volume that sucks the observer into the world that Seth has created on and off the page. After listening to an interview with him on The Virtual Memories Show (http://chimeraobscura.com/vm/podcast-archive), I was fascinated by looking him up as I have seen his work in The New Yorker and other media, yet have not entirely investigated his published texts. What is most admirable about the work is his ability to draw his audience into the story, and the fully realized cardboard city in his basement is entirely believable to his audience because it is three-dimensional in real life. Gorgeous illustrations and a captivating story bring the audience into the mood of the piece by simply inviting us into the anxieties and melancholy of the characters on the page. His artwork is captivating and simple, and it is a pleasure to be invited into experiencing the life of his fan-toting protagonist. We feel his anxieties, and understand the striking apocalypse of industry as globalization and the post-industrial era creeps into the life of our characters. A gorgeous and beautiful book, right down to the scent of the ink wafting from the page as you read.

I am a huge Seth fan. This book is beautiful with beautiful artwork. I savored every panel of artwork. The artwork is so beautiful that I found myself lingering on many panels just to enjoy the view, unique perspective or mood.

Go for the full omnibus, because although this edition is the best one, the story is not complete here.

Muted, deep and completely absorbing. Give yourself over to this quiet little masterpiece for a day or two and emerge a better person.