Acme Novelty Library No 13

"Well, the next one, Chris Ware’s Acme Novelty Library – this issue is almost wholly one story. But no, I think I’m probably more interested in the weird, unusual storytelling method. Which is maybe why I’m having such trouble trying to write a graphic novel at the moment. This issue was before his graphic novel [ Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth ] was released, when Jimmy Corrigan was coming out in episodes. Chris Ware had this thing called the Acme Novelty Library , and the issue I’ve chosen is no 13 in the series. I’ve been buying it since no 4, and originally he was just telling short stories and including cut-out models and drawings. Like the Gorey books it was a comic but it was beautifully produced, and he’s interested in – sometimes ridiculously interested in – design. It’s a short story about Jimmy Corrigan senior – Jimmy’s grandfather – at the World Fair. I think it’s my favourite. I chose it because it stands particularly well on its own. Ware’s very much into the interaction of words and images. He has narration and speech and thought bubbles and he’s really interested in how these two ways of storytelling work together. And he’s really into the division of space on the page. The flatness of his drawing makes that division easier, and he’s a master of atmosphere with colour. But it’s depressing. It’s a very bleak story. He does write in some positive stuff, but it’s almost bleaker than I can stand. I could never be so mean to my characters. I’d kill them, but I couldn’t make them so hopeless. Well they’ve done some interesting stuff with Garfield, like cutting out everything Garfield says and just having Jon, his owner, talk to him like he’s a real cat and Jon is insane. And then someone just took out Garfield altogether. You can do a lot of that deconstructive stuff with Garfield because it’s so formal and simple. How tragic the cartoon seems if Garfield’s not saying anything!"