Thursday, July 01, 2004
Discovering Julie Doucet
Physical State: achey
Mental State: leaden
Music: Magnetic Fields - Get Lost
Fashion sense: white t-shirt, blue jeans
Happy Canada Day! In keeping with all things Canada I've also reread (for like the third time this week) an illustrated graphic novel by Montrealer Julie Doucet called My New York Diary. Julie has long been a stable artist for Drawn and Quarterly with her famous autobiographical series Dirty Plotte. She is also name-checked in the Le Tigre song "Hot Topic" among inspirational artists and women who the Tigres love. At first I didn't know if I'd like her comics but now I'm totally hooked. She is pretty frank with what she touches on and is pretty self-scathing and at times a bit raw. But I find her style very interesting (both as a writer and an artist). Of course I am more than 10 years late to the table in discovering her but I'm still glad I have. She must be a huge inspiration to young creative women around the world, she should be on the Canadian stamp. I think that she should at least have an Order of Canada (she did win a Harvey Award). Julie seems like the equivalent of a Sleater-Kinney member but as a comic artist. Her books are very beautiful in an indie-rock kind of way and I think that everyone should check them out if you haven't already. I also find her style very whimsical and gritty at the same time. She's a meticulous draftswoman as well you can tell from the care she takes in each panel. I would love to see her illustrate a comic with Chan Marshall of Cat Power, I think that would be incredible.
Kudos as well to the kind soul who works at the Toronto Public Library and decides on what graphic novels to add to the collection, kid you deserve a medal. There are many Adrian Tomine comics, Chester Brown, Craig Thompson's Blankets and Drawn and Quarterly collections to be found in the system (as well as Julie). I have been checking out a lot of underground comics lately at the shrine for cool comics in Toronto, The Beguiling. Drawn and Quarterly has done some really great work getting some of these things out there (and with beautiful printing).
Mag Fields tomorrow night! Yeah! Hope all is well.
