Posts tagged “books”

3 posts, newest first

• RIP Joe Matt, you were kinder than you let on.

  1 November, 2023

  

  Joe Matt laid bare his life in autobiographical comics to form a 'peep show' of sorts.

  I used to see Joe Matt, Chester Brown and Seth regularly at a coffee shop called Jet Fuel in the Cabbagetown district of Toronto. My initial thoughts were, "Who are these loud, arrogant people drowning out the conversations and thoughts of others with no concern?" Eventually, I got to know them as pioneering indy comic book artists and even wrote about one of them (Seth) for a magazine.

  While all three did interesting work, the one whose work I related most to was Joe Matt. His work is self-defacating, honest, funny, yet touching. I told him about how I used to buy Grendel comics (by Matt Wagner) as a kid (a series he worked on as colorist) and he squinted at me saying, "You don't look that old." I also asked about his predilection for watching, errr, 'nature films', and while he admitted he felt bad about his habit yet he also said he thought it, "great stuff." Joe Matt's addiction to 'nature films' is a recurring topic in his work and something he struggled with. Unlike most, he was humorous about this. But if you delve into Peepshow, you will also read of his struggles as a poor, broke artist intent on integrity, family issues and relationship troubles.

  Joe Matt was always a nice, approachable and gentle fellow. I could sit and chat with him at the coffee shop anytime I wanted, to discuss comics or other things. I liked to see him with the cool hipster young ladies he hung out with, including an electro-punk lead singer in a local band. I forget what they are called. But I was more interested in Joe Matt and his shy demeanor.

  I find his anthology, 'Peepshow' one of his finer works and it holds up well. Sadly, Joe Matt's work ethic dropped off in the latter 2000's and while there is a pending book about his move to Los Angeles, USA from Toronto, it is not completed. I suppose there was an underlying sense of guilt and overall sadness to him. A relationship that did not work out, a longing to find his 'other', and overwhelming loneliness. But I always saw a shy smile whenever I glanced his way. Rest in Peace, man.

  • news
  • art
  • books

• Project Itoh aka Satoshi Ito, science fiction writer.

  24 June, 2022

  

  Project Itoh, writer of dark sci-fi

  Though Satoshi Ito's stay on this earth was brief due to cancer (October 14, 1974 – March 20, 2009), he did leave behind a legacy of dark sci-fi books, under alias Project Itoh, that resonate to this day. His first book, Genocidal Organ is fascinating. The US government develops a psy-ops team that instigates genocide in target countries, so rather than a costly war invasion, the target citizens do all the killing. However, a psy-ops member goes rogue and a hit squad is sent to intercept. The story is told from the perspective of a hit squad operative. Itoh’s Subsequent book was unremarkable, a tribute to the video game, Metal Gear Solid: Guns of the Patriots. I am not an avid gamer, so the the book held less interest. The third and final book, Harmony, is a dystopian sci-fi novel of the world having reached a humane, conflict-free equilibrium. However, this achievement is at the cost of individual will, where individual behaviour traits are medicated away. A kind of rebellion ensues. Harmony was made into an anime, though I have yet to see it. The story is so dark, that I may not be inclined to watch.

  Japanese are not exactly renown for science fiction novels, but that may be changing. Publisher Haikasoru, a division of Viz Media, made available English translations of novels and anthologies by Japanese writers. The Japanese seem to excel in what is known as 'hard sci-fi' a genre that emphasizes known science to inform the story plots. Much of sci-fi, at least the North American variety, tends to be closer to fantasy with science fact often ignored. Ask a physicist what a Star Trek phaser battle would really look like in space, nothing like what we see on TV. Science in science fiction? Who would have thought?

  • books

• Charles Bowden, writer (1945-2014)

  13 March, 2022

  Charles Bowden was a journalist, essayist, and nature writer. He was best known for books on the black market drug trade between America and Mexico such as Down by the River: Drugs, Money, Murder, and Family (Simon & Shuster, 2004) and Murder City: Ciudad Juarez and the Global Economy's New Killing Fields (Bold Type Books, 2011). Bowden also wrote a series of books that were a hybrid literary essay and journalism that covered economic and environmental issues among other topics. Much of the latter was published posthumously. An example of Bowden's more literary works is Blood Orchid: An unnatural History of America. (University of Texas Press, 2018) Charles Bowden was contributing editor to Harpers Magazine and Mother Jones among other periodicals. Many of Bowden's books, if not all, are available via reprint.

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