Al Columbia

There's a feeling I get sometimes, mostly when viewing art, rarely when watching movies, of the top of my skull coming off. This isn't a metaphor; that's exactly what I feel. I felt it more often as a kid, reading MAD Magazine -- especially the art of Basil Wolverton -- or at the volumes of Man, Myth & Magic my parents inexplicably kept. There's some quality to the artwork I've always found found both compelling and repulsive. With my skull opened, my brain exposed, what might be loued into it?

I should mention here that Pim & Francie by Al Columbia is definitely not for everyone. It's transgressive, brutal, and terrifying. And beautiful. Columbia uses a clearline drawing style to put his titular characters through literal hell. Think Hergé, if Tintin experienced the Revalation. This book, the only collection of Columbia's work I know of, is made up of story fragments, each one showing what happens to innocents in a nightmare world. It isn't good. The fragmented nature of the stories, characters and storylines are half hidden from the reader, adds to feeling terror. Again, not for everyone, but I've read it twice in the two days since I received it.… (mais)

It's Valentines Day, or is it your Birthday? Or is it Mother's Day? Anyway you've been given a box of chocolate covered rotting lamb hearts. Clearly it takes a rarified taste to appreciate such sweet and pungent succulents.
Al Columbia lives (metaphorically speaking) in the same town as Jim Woodring, but his block is more rundown and creepy, and it feels like you might not come out of there in one piece. I guess there's always been a little Lynch energy in there to start with, but now there's an outsider's edge that's almost Dargeresque in intensity.
Great to see this book, and the art is terrific, but Woof!
Fascinating, but by no means for everyone.… (mais)

Al Columbia's comics are something unique indeed, and Pim & Francie: "The Golden Bear Days" is certainly the most distilled assemblage of his strange visions that has hit store shelves to date. There's no strict narrative here, but there is nonetheless enough narrative momentum to carry the reader along on this journey of innocence pursued by menace. Or at least that's the surface narrative - clearly our protagonists (Pim and Francie) are ultimately every bit as cruel as the evil forces that harass them. It all adds up to an awfully bleak entertainment, but the author remains true to his intention and doesn't weaken the overall package with unnecessary strains of hope or redemption. This material isn't for everyone, but if you can appreciate the consistency of Columbia's grim vision, it's certainly a worthwhile book.… (mais)