Into the Eisenshpritz Elif Batuman LRB Vol. 30 No.

7 10 April 2008
Life, in Pictures: Autobiographical Stories by Will Eisner
Epileptic by David B.
Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine
Misery Loves Comedy by Ivan Brunetti
The term graphic novel is dismissed by most o! its practitioners as either an empty euphemism or a
mar"eting ploy. As #ar$ane %atrapi puts it& graphic novels simply enable the bourgeois to read comics
'ithout !eeling bad( according to Alan #oore& they allo' publishers to stic" si) issues o! 'hatever
'orthless piece o! crap they happened to be publishing lately under a glossy cover and call it The She
!ul" #raphic $ovel. #oore and %atrapi& in common 'ith many others& 'ant their 'or" to be "no'n as
comics. But graphic novel can use!ully designate a certain type o! comic* a single+author& boo"+length
'or"& meant !or a gro'n+up reader& 'ith a memoiristic or novelistic narrative& usually devoid o!
superheroes. By contrast& the older and more capacious term comic boo" recalls the thinner& serialised&
multi+authored or ghost+'ritten publications ri!e 'ith %upermen and %he+,ul"s. %ome comics& o! course&
straddle -or elude. both categories( but in broad terms comic boo" and graphic novel serve to
distinguish t'o trends in the history and !orm o! comics.
There is no better vantage+point !rom 'hich to vie' these t'o trends than the ne' collection o! Will
Eisners autobiographical comics& entitled Life, in Pictures. Eisners career is a microcosm o! the history o!
American comics& starting 'ith the golden age o! the /012s and /032s. When he 'as /0& Eisner co+
!ounded one o! the !irst comics studios& Eisner 4 Iger& 'hose original titles included Sheena, %ueen of
the &ungle and 'lac"ha("& as 'ell as the underappreciated Mr Mystic and )oll Man. #r #ystic 5 his real
name 'as 6en 5 crashed a plane in Tibet& 'here the %even Lamas tattooed an arcane symbol onto his
!orehead& endo'ing him 'ith the ability to trans!orm into animals. Then there is Darrell Dane& a research
chemist 'ith the ability to compress his molecular structure until he has shrun" to a height o! si) inches(
the Doll #ans crime+!ighting techni7ues involve hiding in handbags& bivouac"ing in pie dishes and riding
a 8erman shepherd dog. In /032& Eisner created his most !amous mas"ed hero* The Spirit 'as a
syndicated series !eaturing a !ormer detective called Denny 9olt 'ho staged his o'n death and too" up
residence in a graveyard& 'hence he made periodic !orays into the 'orld o! crime.
The virtuosity o! The Spirit is such as to belie the idea o! a comic strip. The panels& as i! themselves
in!used by an e)uberant %pirit& leap !rom their rectangular bo)es& assuming the !orms o! diverse print
media* !ile cards& gravestones& !ilm strips& childrens boo"s& television sets. Eisners panels o!ten !loat
against blac" E)pressionist nights or lightly in"ed 9enter 9ity s"ylines. %ome scenes are !ramed by
purely visual devices* beam o! a !lashlight& vie'!inder o! a telescope& $agged outlines o! a bombed 'all&
round 'indo's in a restaurant "itchen door. %peech bubbles to coincide 'ith pillars o! cigarette smo"e.
By the /0:2s& ho'ever& Eisner seemed to have e)hausted his o'n inventiveness. Denny 9olt actually
spent eight 'ee"s in /0:; voyaging on the moon& in the company o! some convicts( a !e' months later&
The Spirit 'as discontinued. <or the ne)t t'enty years& Eisner primarily produced cartoon+!ormatted
technical manuals !or the =% Army. ,is notable creation o! this period 5 during 'hich the army 'hich sent
him on several research e)peditions to >apan& 6orea and ?ietnam 5 'as a certain @rivate >oe Dope& 'ho
verses 8Is in the arts o! preventative maintenance.
#ean'hile& in the late /0A2s& the comic+boo" landscape 'as being altered by the underground comi)
movement& led by Robert 9rumb. Among 9rumbs most popular creations are the suave adventurer <ritB
the 9at -'hose con7uests include a !emale ostrich and his o'n sister. and #r Catural& a !ountainhead o!
e)asperatingly vague advice& out!itted in a Tolstoyan beard and smoc"( another recurring character is the
cartoonist R. 9rumb& a gangly !ello' in glasses& 'hom 'e !ind engaged no' in sadomasochistic se)
acts& no' in mailing his comics to Bertrand Russell -oboy oboy& hope he li"es umD.. 9rumb made comics
out o! the most heterogeneous and unheard+o! materials 5 >esus& eyeballs& AmaBonian muscle+'omen in
hot pants& humanoid pigs 5 and they came out in an into)icatingly uni!orm $umble& as i! you 'ere loo"ing
/
into the prop room o! someones subconscious theatre. As the 9ubists trans!ormed all people and things
into multi!aceted geometrical solids& 9rumb trans!ormed all people and things into bulbous& an)ious
masses. Everything appears electrocuted* the people& the telephones& the sun. 9rumb& li"e many 9ubists&
does not ma"e the 'orld more beauti!ul( but he does impress you 'ith a uni!ied sub$ectivity.
And in a 'ay& uni!ied sub$ectivity 'as 'hat Eisners omnivorous& collage+li"e productions 'ere all about*
the digesting and reproduction o! the entire 'orld through a single vision. It 'as under the in!luence o!
9rumbs autobiographical stories that Eisner produced apparently the !irst 'or" to be mar"eted as a
graphic novel. A Contract (ith #od -/0EF.& set in a >e'ish tenement in the Bron) in the /012s& attracted
notice !or its literary+memoiristic material& !or the characters e)traordinary !acial elasticity& and !or the
driving& driBBling rain& reminiscent o! li7uid mercury& "no'n to this day as EisenshpritB or EisnershpritB.
Life, in Pictures includes !ive o! Eisners more e)plicitly autobiographical comics& notably The )reamer&
'hich describes ho' Eisner managed against all odds& in the middle o! the 8reat Depression& to establish
a !antastically success!ul comic+boo" studio. The )reamer tells the story 5 and provides one o! the !irst
e)amples 5 o! a narrative medium originally developed !or one "ind o! story -superhero adventures. and
no' being re+adapted !or another "ind -the cartoonists autobiography.. In the process& 'e see that these
t'o types o! material are not so di!!erent as they may at !irst seem.
The most stri"ing similarity bet'een the superhero comic and the memoir+in+comics is the moti! o! double
identity. This is perhaps the de!ining !eature o! the superhero. We recognise %uperman not by his ability
to !reeBe ob$ects by blo'ing on them but by his second li!e as 9lar" 6ent. In an essay on %uperman&
=mberto Eco characterised superhero comics generically as an amalgam o! mythopoeic and novelistic
narratives* %uperman is simultaneously an epic+eternal hero 'ho e)ists outside time -the #an o! %teel.&
and a consumable romantic+novelistic hero -9lar" 6ent. 'ho gets older every 'ee". These t'o types o!
hero also correspond to the double nature o! the comics medium* a hybrid o! 'ords and pictures. 9lar"
6ent& a print $ournalist& stands unmista"eably !or the 'ritten 'ord* beleaguered& bespectacled& clad in the
ne'spapermans monochrome& he pales be!ore the Technicolor splendour o! %uperman& 'ho is the
image made !lesh& in all its immediacy and po'er.
What you realise& reading The )reamer& is that the story o! the superheros double identity is actually the
story o! American >e'ish assimilation. In one spread& set in the Eisner 4 Iger studio& the cartoonists
discover that they are nearly all >e'ish. Eisner has changed their names& but a glossary at the bac"
provides the "ey* >ac" 6ing -nG 6lingensteiner. is based on >ac" 6irby -nG >acob 6urtBberg.& co+creator
o! Captain America and The *ly( 6en 9orn is Bob 6ane -nG 6ahn.& creator o! 'atman. The bespectacled
>e's in their 'or"shop& manu!acturing superheroes under assumed names* a room !ull o! 9lar" 6ents.
The #arvel po'erhouse %tan Lee& 'ho created or co+created such dynamos as SpiderMan& The
*antastic *our& The +ncredible !ul"& The ,Men and )octor Strange& 'as born %tanley #artin Lieber. And
the !irst issue o! Superman 'as published& in /01F& by t'o young American >e's& >erry %iegel and >oe
%huster. As #ichael 9habon 'rote in The Ama-ing Adventures of .avalier / Clay -;222.& 'hose
protagonists are loosely based on %iegel and %huster* %uperman& you dont thin" hes >e'ishH I 9lar"
6ent& only a >e' 'ould pic" a name li"e that !or himsel!. A!!inities have o!ten been noted bet'een
%uperman and mid+century American >e'ry* there is the destruction o! %upermans !amily in a ,olocaust+
li"e disaster on @lanet 6rypton( the 6indertransport+li"e intergalactic $ourney to Earth( the deracinated
childhood in 6ansas. The !antasy o! %uperman 'as that& unli"e much o! American >e'ry& he 'as not
po'erless and remote !rom the monstrous crimes being perpetrated in Europe* in /03;& a comic+boo"
cover depicted the #an o! %teel throttling ,itler.
%ome American >e's& o! course& lived a real+li!e version o! this !antasy. Eisners ne)t autobiographical
comic& To the !eart of the Storm& set in /03;& opens 'ith the ne'ly dra!ted Eisner loo"ing out the 'indo'
o! a train& recalling scenes !rom days gone by. ,e remembers his !irst e)periences getting beaten up in
the Bron)& his th'arted romance 'ith a gentile girl and his !riendship 'ith Buc"& the son o! right+'ing
8erman immigrants& in 'hose basement the boys built a !ully !unctional sailing boat. Jears later& at the
start o! the 'ar& Eisner runs into Buc" in a Ce' Jor" ca!eteria( the conversation gets o!! to an amiable
;
start& until tal" turns to the dra!t& and Buc" assures Eisner that he has nothing to 'orry about* #ost >e's
'ill avoid the dra!tD I Why do you thin" ,itler is trying to rid the 'orld o! >e'sH I They dont $oin up li"e
'e doD 9rushed& the cartoonist leaves his !riend in the ca!eteria and strides out into the EisenshpritB.
A !e' pages later& 'hen a big publisher o!!ers Eisner a chance to escape the dra!t& he turns it do'n* Ive
spent the last !ive years dra'ing dreams I Im my o'n prisoner I no' is my chance to escape into the
real 'orldD I 'ant to $oin the big parade I !eel& taste and smell realityD The comic ends 'ith the train
pulling into an army training camp. In the last& !ull+page panel& the narrator marches o!! into a
thunderstorm& in a line 'ith the other army recruits( the illustration has no te)t and no border. The narrator
is !inally leaving the prison o! his o'n !inely in"ed lines. Leaving behind the boo"ish dreamer 9lar" 6ent&
he 'al"s into the 'orld o! %uperman.
I! you loo" at the history o! the comic+boo" superhero !rom the perspective o! >e'ish assimilation& one
'or" that $umps out as a literary precursor is Isaac Babels 0ed Cavalry story cycle& 'hich appeared in
Russia in /0;A -the !irst English translation 'as published in /0;0.. The cycle comprises 11 very short
stories based on Babels e)periences 'or"ing !or the 0ed Cavalryman& the ne'spaper o! the 9ossac"
army& during the Russo+@olish War o! /0;2. The 9ossac"s in the stories are superhuman !igures& and not
al'ays 'ell disposed to'ards the li"es o! Babel& a >e'ish intellectual 'ho goes through li!e 'ith autumn
in his heart and spectacles on his nose.
During the 'ar& Babel& li"e his !ictional protagonist& assumed a non+>e'ish pseudonym* Lyutov& meaning
!erocious. The !luctuation bet'een Babel -the >e'ish narrator. and Lyutov -his !eral alter ego. is a theme
in many o! the 0ed Cavalry stories. #y <irst 8oose& the story o! Babels !irst day on the $ob& opens 'ith
the $ournalists introduction to his ne' boss* %avits"y& the commander o! the %i)th Division& rose 'hen he
sa' me& and I 'as ta"en abac" by the beauty o! his gigantic body. ,e rose 5 his breeches purple& his
raspberry+coloured cap coc"ed to the side& various military orders pinned to his chest 5 splitting the hut in
t'o& as a banner splits the s"y. The gigantic human banner& the colossus in purple breeches& his chest
thrust out beneath its spangled orders* %avits"y pre!igures %uperman& the image made !lesh. 9lic"ing his
tongue at Babels spectacles 5 here you get hac"ed to pieces $ust !or 'earing glassesD 5 %avits"y
introduces the ne' recruit to his colleagues* illiterate 9ossac" toughs& 'ho greet the intellectual by
thro'ing his suitcase into the street.
At this point in the story the narrator trans!orms into the !erocious Lyutov. ,e stomps on the nec" o! a
goose that has been 'addling around the billet& impales it on a sabre& and demands that it be coo"ed !or
his dinner. Impressed& the 9ossac"s ma"e room !or him at the !ireside and accept him as one o! their
o'n. But that night& a!ter Lyutov retires to the haylo!t 'ith his !ive ne' comrades& he turns bac" into
Babel* I dreamed and sa' 'omen in my dreams& and only my heart& crimson 'ith murder& screeched and
bled.
Babel made iconic the double identity o! the assimilated >e'* a man o! letters& striving to be a man o!
action( a man o! 'ords& striving to be a man o! images. -In a story called Line and 9olour& Babel
contrasts the idealism o! Ale)ander 6erens"y& 'ho re!uses to 'ear glasses because he pre!ers colour to
line& to the hardheadedness o! Trots"y& 'ho never ta"es his glasses o!! !or a minute* colour is al'ays an
e)pensive commodity.. The >e'ish American creators o! the early superhero comics too" up this dialectic
o! 'ord and image& 'hich 'as so 'ell suited to both their artistic medium and their place in the 'orld.
0ed Cavalry 'as not& o! course& the sole literary antecedent o! the superhero narrative. Kne 'or"
!re7uently cited in this conte)t is Emma KrcBys The Scarlet Pimpernel -/021.* the story& set during the
Terror& o! a beauti!ul <rench actress married to a 'ealthy but vapid British baronet. The actress despises
her husband and is greatly ta"en by stories o! a nameless Englishman 'ho has been rescuing aristocrats
!rom the guillotine( every time he spirits another royalist to England& the public prosecutor receives a
dra'ing o! a scarlet pimpernel. The actress is naturally astounded to learn that the %carlet @impernel is
none other than her husband& 'ho has assumed the persona o! a gaping aristocrat in order to deceive the
>acobins. #any ingredients o! the superhero comic are present here& notably the duality o! the 'ea"& drab
man and the brilliantly coloured anonymous hero. What Babel adds is the suggestion that the superheros
1
heroism has a diabolical element* to become a Red 9avalryman -i! not a %carlet @impernel. is to enter
into a compact 'ith the devil. Blood must be shed( geese must be sacri!iced.
In Babel& the 'ea" man is neither an idiot nor a play+actor( he is a boo"ish type 'ho really is physically
'ea" 5 and 'ho has nonetheless created a "ind o! monster. As has been noted by both Eisner and
9habon& the conceit o! the 'ea"& boo"ish type 'ho creates a valiant monster e)ists in >e'ish !ol"lore& in
the legend o! the golem. This 'as a creature !ormed in clay by a rabbi in /Ath+century @rague to protect
the ghetto !rom a pogrom. It gro's to superhuman proportions and destroys the enemies o! the >e's&
although in most versions the golem eventually turns on the >e's as 'ell and has to be destroyed.
Babels other contribution to the comic+boo" tradition is a certain "ind o! narrative time* the time o! the
story cycle. There is a close a!!inity bet'een the idea o! the cyclical and the heros double identity. As
both mythical hero and romantic+novelistic hero& %uperman occupies t'o mutually e)clusive "inds o! time.
As a mythical character& he is al'ays engaged in con7uering an endless series o! obstacles( as a
romantic+novelistic character& every time he surmounts an obstacle& he has& as Eco puts it& made a
gesture 'hich is inscribed in his past and 'eighs on his !uture. ,e has ta"en a step to'ards death& he
has got older& i! only by an hour. The mythic hero neither ages nor accumulates e)periences( his !ate is
immanent and al'ays present. The romantic+serial hero& by contrast& may be ta"en up at any point by a
sta!! o! ghost+'riters& any one o! 'hom can see only a !e' episodes into the !uture.
,o' to reconcile these t'o "inds o! time in the story o! %upermanH The least satis!actory option& Eco
suggests& 'ould have been to ignore the problem( to have %upermans adventures begin each 'ee"
'here they le!t o!! the 'ee" be!ore& as happened in the case o! Little Krphan Annie& 'ho prolonged her
disaster+ridden childhood !or decades. Instead& the authors o! Superman devised a solution 'hich is
much shre'der and undoubtedly more original*
The stories develop in a "ind o! oneiric climate I 'here 'hat has happened be!ore and
'hat has happened a!ter appear e)tremely haBy. The narrator pic"s up the strand o! the
event again and again& as i! he had !orgotten to say something and 'anted to add details
to 'hat had already been said.
It occurs& then& that along 'ith %uperman stories& %uperboy stories are told& that is&
stories o! %uperman 'hen he 'as a boy& or a tiny child under the name o! %uperbaby.
This is a !airly accurate description o! the 'or"ing o! time in Babels story cycles. The stories are not
ordered chronologically* there are repetitions( some characters une)pectedly reappear in unli"ely
situations( others appear in one story and are never seen again. At the same time& each story is a sel!+
su!!icient unit* it really is a story& rather than a chapter in a #odernist novel. As the stories o! %uperboy
and %uperbaby are introduced only retrospectively& so Babel !ollo'ed the 0ed Cavalry cycle 'ith a
Childhood cycle& set in Kdessa in the early /022s& about a boo"ish >e'ish boy 5 implicitly& the !uture
Lyutov. -%upermans ,ebraic+sounding birth name& 6al+El& resonates 'ith the name Babel used to sign
his !irst articles* Bab+El..
Babel and Superman didnt e)actly invent the time o! the story cycle( something very similar 'as already
in use in the /F02s and /022s. In narrating %herloc" ,olmess adventures& Dr Watson typically purports
to be e)tracting& !rom voluminous caseboo"s& various cases 'hich can !inally be brought to light. As
Superman readers belatedly learn o! the e)istence o! %upermans cousin and childhood companion&
%upergirl& so ,olmes !ans learn only mid'ay through the series that %herloc" has a brother& #ycro!t. As
in the case o! 0ed Cavalry and Superman& the cycle techni7ue serves to accommodate a generically
hybrid hero& though one 'ho is here divided bet'een t'o characters* the mythic superhero ,olmes& and
the serial $ournalist Dr Watson.
It 'as an important innovation on the part o! Babel and the authors o! Superman to collapse ,olmes and
Watson into one person 5 as i! the pedantic doctor turned out also to be an amaBing superdetective. -That
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Watson and ,olmes 'ere secretly doubles all along is suggested by the !act that 9onan Doyle& an
ophthalmologist& based ,olmess deductive abilities on those o! a real doctor& the surgeon >oseph Bell..
Conetheless& the hero+in+t'o+persons arrangement is vestigially present in many cyclically narrated
comics. @robably the best+loved e)ample is the duality o! %noopy and 9harlie Bro'n. %noopy& the
romantic hero& is variously an attorney& a pulp novelist& an Klympic !igure+s"ater& a Beagle %cout&
<lashbeagle& the Lone Beagle& the <lying Ace& a World+<amous 8ol!er& a World+<amous %urgeon( 'hile
9harlie Bro'n is inescapably the 9harlie Bro'niest o! all 9harlie Bro'ns. 9harlie Bro'n is all tal" and
'orry( %noopy is all image and imagination. And an oneiric climate $ust about describes the sense o!
time developed by %chulB. %easons change& as do !ashions* %noopy is al'ays on top o! the latest !ads&
!rom contact lenses to grunge. But although ne' babies are occasionally born -%ally& Rerun.& the e)isting
children dont get any older( and history al'ays remains outside the !rame.
Kver the past t'enty years& history has become one o! the privileged sub$ects o! the graphic novel. The
image+te)t duality translates into a dual relationship to history* the hero is simultaneously a private
cartoonist and a 'orld+historical actor. This is the duality rendered some'hat simplistically in %atrapis
Persepolis -;223.( it is more subtly present in Rutu #odans E1it 2ounds -;22E.& a missing+person story
set in present day Tel Aviv. The trend began 'ith %piegelmans Maus& the !irst graphic novel to cross over
into literature& in 'hich the author depicts himsel! at the cartoonists table& as a man in mouse mas".
The suitability o! the comics medium to historical narratives lies& again& in the te)t+image duality& 'hich
ma"es history a "ind o! imagistic bac"drop to the characters actions. The superheros double identity
corresponds& in this sense& to Lu"Lcss distinction bet'een private citiBens and 'orld+historical
characters* 9lar" 6ent -and Isaac Babel. represent te)t and private li!e& 'hile %uperman -and the Red
9avalryman Lyutov. represent the image and 'orld+historical narrative. According to Lu"Lcs& the tas" o!
the historical novel is to use private destinies as a mirror o! social+human contents& in order to present
history M!rom belo'N. This is the aim so spectacularly achieved in Maus& 'hose !irst volume is subtitled
My *ather 'leeds !istory* this is history seen literally !rom belo'& !rom the perspective o! the mouse.
In graphic novels today& >e'ishness is o!ten still the code'ord& not only !or double identity in general& but
!or a particularly historical double consciousness. This is the case even among non+>e'ish cartoonists. A
particularly stri"ing case is that o! David B. -nG @ierre+<ranOois Beauchard.& 'hose autobiographical
L3Ascension du haut mal -/00A+;221. is available in a single+volume English translation called Epileptic.
The epileptic is @ierre+<ranOoiss elder brother& >ean+9hristophe& and the boo" tells the story o! the
Beauchard !amilys 7uest !or a cure !or >ean+9hristophes seiBures. The children are dragged to hospitals&
to Lourdes& to macrobiotic communes& to %'edenborgians and to 'itch doctors.
@ierre+<ranOois acts out his part in the !amilys battle against epilepsy by obsessively dra'ing battle
scenes& covering page a!ter page 'ith the minuscule dismembered corpses o! samurai& #ongol
horsemen and ABtec 'arriors. #ean'hile& >ean+9hristophe develops increasingly autistic tendencies& and
an embarrassing mania !or ,itler* Where Im an anonymous cro'd o! #ongols& David B. 'rites& hes a
supreme leader.P,is dream is that o! an eternal parade by an army that 'orships him.P,e dra's himsel! a
CaBi !lag and posts it on the 'all o! his room. In order to e)press his opposition to the sic"ness embodied
by that s'asti"a& @ierre+<ranOois assumes a >e'ish identity. ,e is inspired by the discovery that his
mother 'anted to name him David but 'as dissuaded by her !ather+in+la'& 'ho !ound the name too
>e'ish. This same grand!ather is the o'ner o! a !our+volume illustrated history o! World War T'o& much
beloved by @ierre+<ranOois( until one day he !lips to the end o! ?olume I?& and sees& !or the !irst time&
photographs o! the victims o! the concentration camps. Kne prisoner is depicted in the same tortuous
posture adopted by >ean+9hristophe during his epileptic seiBures* the contorted body& the craning nec"&
the cla'+li"e hands. The ne)t time >ean+9hristophe starts tal"ing about ,itlers genius& David tac"les
him& declaring* #e& Im a >e'D
@ierre+<ranOoiss mother does not ob$ect to his desire to change his name to David. I 'ouldve li"ed to be
>e'ish& she e)plains* All the best 'riters are >e'ish I or homose)ual.PKr bothD #arcel @roust is
e)traordinary. David is puBBled by his mothers con!idences* Is she trying to tell us that shed have li"ed
to be a great 'riterH David& o! course& 'ould li"e to be a great 'riter( and& having adopted a >e'ish
:
identity& he begins to undergo an artistic metamorphosis as 'ell. ,e dra's his !irst comic boo" 5 a
dramatisation o! Tamerlaines sallies in 9entral Asia& complete 'ith elaborately lettered speech balloons 5
but discovers that battle scenes have lost their appeal !or him( he realises that 8enghis 6han had le!t
mountains o! corpses in @e"ing and %amar"and. Abandoning Tamerlaine a!ter only t'enty pages& he
instead embar"s on reading his very !irst gro'n+up boo"* 8ustav #eyrin"s The #olem.
,e becomes obsessed by the golem and by >e'ish !ol"lore( his !irst serious girl!riend is a >e'ish singer
-%he per!orms the traditional Jiddish and >udeo+,ispanic repertory. 'ith 'hom he moves to the rue des
Rosiers& in @ariss old >e'ish 7uarter. The couple spend years vainly trying to conceive a child& be!ore
dri!ting apart( the !ertility doctors announce that Davids sperm are ine)plicably bi!urcated* Each o! them
has either t'o heads or t'o tails I Am I a double mysel!H
@ierre+<ranOois Beauchards double identity as David B. is a mirror image o! Isaac Babels double identity
as 6onstantin Lyutov. Babel e)changes the pen !or the s'ord( David B.& coming to understand su!!ering
and victimhood& gives up his battle scenes 5 and changes his name to hide the !act that he isnt >e'ish
-that B. could stand !or anything* Blumen"rantB& Bernstein& Ber"ovits.. By assuming the name o! a >e'&
he attempts to $oin the privileged literature o! otherness* All the best 'riters are >e'ish. David B. isnt the
only instance o! a 'ell+"no'n cartoonist publishing under a !alse >e'ish name. The 9anadian cartoonist
%eth 'as born 8regory 8allant 5 a name any superhero 'ould have been proud o!. 8allant changed his
name to %eth 5 no surname 5 in his t'enties. In his semi+autobiographical picture novella +t3s a #ood
Life, +f 4ou )on3t 2ea"en -;22E.& %eth portrays himsel! 'earing glasses& a !edora and a trenchcoat. 8et
a load o that guy& a teenager remar"s at one point* Its 9lar" 6ent.
In recent years& the theme o! >e'ishness has been interestingly appropriated by a ne' group o! graphic
novelists* Asian Americans& most notably 8ene Luen Jang and Adrian Tomine. <or Jang and Tomine&
the canonical 'riter o! >e'ish assimilation is Babels American heir& @hilip Roth& 'ho transplanted the
sphere o! action !rom 'ar to dating. Jangs American 'orn Chinese -;22A. relates the adventures o! a
9hinese boy called >in Wang 'ho so longs to be attractive to 'hite girls that he manages to sublimate
himsel! into a blond all+American boy called Danny& 'ho is& ho'ever& pursued by a monstrous double
called cousin 9hin+6ee& a buc"toothed& pigtailed personi!ication o! yello' peril stereotypes.
Tomines Shortcomings& 'hich e)plores similar issues in a more realistic mode& opens 'ith the
protagonist& Ben Tana"a& 'atching a movie about a 9hinese American girls evolving relationship 'ith her
grand!ather* As I stood beside him in his ageing !ortune coo"ie !actory I I realised that he 'as very
much li"e the thing hed spent his li!e ma"ing* a hard& protective shell containing hai"u+li"e 'isdom. Ben
ta"es no pains to hide his lo' opinion o! both the !ilm and the !estival presenting it& 'hich 'as organised
by his girl!riend& #i"o& to sho'case %an <rancisco Bay Area Asian American digital !ilmma"ers -Didnt
they also have to be le!t+handed or somethingH.. #i"o accuses Ben o! being ashamed to be Asian( a!ter
a movie li"e that& he retorts& Im ashamed to be human.
These !irst pages display Tomines strengths* e)7uisite dra!tsmanship& 'itty repartee and a pitch+per!ect
ear !or the 'ell+intentioned nonsense produced by youth!ul idealism( it is hard not to admire that ageing
!ortune coo"ie !actory. Also in evidence& ho'ever& is the pro!ound unli"eability o! all Tomines characters&
'ho are distributed bet'een t'o unappealing camps* sarcastic misanthropes -Ben. and humourless
clichG+mongers -#i"o.. In the ne)t pages& #i"o& e)asperated by Bens anti+Asianness -at one point she
!inds a D?D in his des" called Sapphic Sorority and is appalled that it !eatures only 'hite 'omen.&
decides to spend the summer in CJ. Alone in Ber"eley& Ben embar"s on the time+honoured Rothian
7uest o! bedding the shi"sa.
%tep one* the overse)ed intellectual must moc" the shi"sa !or some mani!estation o! Wasp !rivolity. It isnt
long be!ore Ben !inds himsel! in the apartment o! a blonde per!ormance artist& 'hose 'alls are covered
by @olaroids o! her urine+!illed toilet bo'l. I 'a"e up every morning& go pee& then ta"e a picture I
@atterns start to emerge I li"e 'hen Im dehydrated& or 'hen I get my period I itll be a huge installation
someday. Thats pretty amaBing& Ben says. The pee+installation is& presumably& evidence o! Tomines
de!t comic touch. But the only humour Ben dra's !rom the situation is the mordant recognition o! his o'n
A
shallo'ness* !or a chance to score 'ith a 'hite girl& he really 'as 'illing to !eign interest in this vulgar
pseudo+art* #y super!iciality couldve overpo'ered my snobbery.
%tep t'o* sel!+congratulation. The eagle has landed& Ben announces& 'ith the deed accomplished. Li"e
a Roth protagonist& Ben does not hesitate to communicate to the shi"sa ho' pleased he is 'ith himsel!&
as one o! his "ind& to be dating one o! her "ind. When Ben and the 'hite girl!riend pass some Asian
teenagers in the street& Ben insists that one o! the boys 'as staring at them in 'hite+girl envy. Co' i! he
had been 'ith a 'hite girl too& Ben continues& 'e 'ouldve given each other the sign I "ind o! li"e a
covert Mhigh !iveN. Tomine doesnt leave out the penis envy& either. Where @ortnoys circumcised little
dong I shrivels up in veneration 'hen con!ronted 'ith an actual shi"sa& Ben su!!ers the even 'orse
plight o! being an Asian man and thus having an irremediably small penis. This is the sub$ect o! three
pages o! sporadically entertaining bac" tal" bet'een Ben and his best !riend& Alice -,o' small are 'e
tal"ing hereH Li"e& in inchesH I Jour re!usal to ans'er only damns you !urtherD..
#ean'hile in Ce' Jor"& the hypocritical #i"o turns out to have been having a !ling 'ith a 'hite guy&
'hom she perversely de!ends against charges o! 'hiteness* ,es hal! >e'ish& hal! Cative American. Ben
sco!!s at this 5 Thats hilariousD Is that 'hat he put on his college applicationH 5 and indeed
Shortcomings 'or"s in part by de!lating American >e's continued status as cultural outsiders. <rom
Bens perspective& >e's& hal!+>e's and hal!+Cative Americans are all $ust 'hite people.
Where David B. ma"es sense o! his o'n !eelings o! alienation by becoming >e'ish& Tomines characters
set out to "noc" >e'ishness o!! its pedestal. In the !our decades since Portnoy3s Complaint& Tomine
implies& the battleground o! erotic assimilation has been relocated. Co'here is this clearer than 'hen Ben
and Alice& having arrived in Ce' Jor" to spy on #i"o& ta"e the sub'ay to Broo"lyn. Alice points elatedly
at the Broo"lyn Bridge* Doesnt it ma"e you !eel li"e youre in some nostalgic movie about being >e'ish
or somethingH Alice is happy to !eel her li!e intersecting 'ith the set o! a nostalgic Woody Allen movie&
because the American >e'ish narrative o!!ers a chance to !it her o'n idiosyncratic and o!ten
uncom!ortable personal e)perience into an already meaning!ul story 5 one 'hich& moreover& has a built+in
happy ending. <rom the perspective o! Ben or Alice& >e'ish assimilation narrative is especially po'er!ul
because its practitioners have by no' been so seamlessly integrated into mainstream American culture.
=nli"eability and sel!+hatred are by no means anomalous traits in the protagonists created by todays
younger male cartoonists& the young !ogeys 'hose relentless portrayal o! unattractive 7ualities and male
insecurities& o!ten combined 'ith e)tremely beauti!ul and technically accomplished art'or"& does not
al'ays ma"e !or en$oyable reading. %ome graphic novels give you the impression o! being stuc" in
conversation 'ith a sel!+hating man 'ho constantly harps on about his most unappealing 7ualities& less in
the hope that you 'ill protest 5 i! you do& he 'ill start arguing 'ith you 5 than to ma"e you !eel shallo' !or
not li"ing him. Apparently& only super!icial people choose their !riends e)clusively !rom the ran"s o! the
pleasant or attractive& rather than !rom among introspective guys 'ho tell it li"e it is. The most e)treme
e)ample is Ivan Brunetti& 'ho has ta"en male sel!+loathing to incredible e)tremes( he deserves
recognition $ust !or thin"ing o! all the a'!ul things he 'rites in his boo"s.
Brunetti and his colleagues are o!ten praised !or their un!linching or uncompromising honesty& and this
is& I suppose& a valid criterion( i! guys are really e)periencing all these pain!ul emotions& then 'ho am I to
say that art shouldnt be the mirror o! realityH Kn the other hand& 'hat one ob$ects to in Brunetti is less the
sel!+loathing than the attendant coc"tail o! sel!+congratulation and dime+store psychology. Why 'ould a
girl li"e 6im even care that I didnt call her bac" 5 me& a guy 'ho is chronically constipated and probably
has cancerH %he could have any guy she (anted. I dunno I maybe its the mothering instinct I maybe
all mothers 'anna sleep 'ith their sons or something.
K6& I made that up( but this really is ta"en !rom a gorgeously illustrated page in Brunettis Misery Loves
Comedy*
E
Bac" to this androgyny thing I maybe androgyny is li"e& I dunno& an idealised merging
or a per!ect synthesis o! the duality o! se)ual nature I or maybe not I all I "no' is that
Im still in!atuated 'ith this one lesbianish girl I sa' in an Kmni supermar"et about si)
months ago. %he caught me ogling her& and she sneered at me I ?alerie noticed me
staring at her& too I I thin" ?al 'as peeved I
The most despised o! all men& he is still coveted( his 'andering eye still has the po'er to ma"e a 'oman
!eel bad about hersel!. This is another recurring moti! in the sel!+hating male graphic novel* the
depressive cartoonist manages to score 'ith a 'oman out o! his league& and then loses her than"s to his
o'n boorish behaviour. The 'oman goes o!! some'here 'ith her de!lated ego& leaving the cartoonist to
his moody introspection& dot dot dot.
Misery Loves Comedy includes a page o! letters signed by !ello' cartoonists* It 'as as i! this had been
'ritten !or #E ->im %iergey.( I en$oyed 'atching you su!!er 5 "eep on 'hiningD -Art %piegelman.( A!ter
reading your comic boo"& I had the overall impression that maybe + 'asnt such a bad guy overall -9hris
Ware.. -Robert 9rumbs letter is 'elcome evidence that humour can still be !ound among the sel!+haters*
I suppose I have to ta"e part o! the blame !or encouraging this sort o! thing in the comics& 9rumb 'rites.
Jour comic 'as sharp and !unny and 'ell+dra'n& but so !uc"ing negative and sel!+absorbed& its hard to
ta"e. Addressing Brunetti as Bubbela& 9rumb goes on to recommend a programme o! @roBac and
@ositive Autosuggestion..
But i! you dont already thin" youre such a bad guy overall& other boo"s that 'erent really designed 'ith
you in mind include 9hris Wares e)7uisitely designed &immy Corrigan, the Smartest .id on Earth -;222.&
a masterpiece o! sadomasochism on every level* the lettering is so small that it is pain!ul to read. The
boo" opens 'ith a retro+styled Technical E)planation o! the Language& complete 'ith a multiple choice
sel!+test& printed in type smaller than the most compact 5E). The !irst 7uestion is Jou are* -a. male( -b.
!emale 5 beneath 'hich is printed& in still tinier letters* I! -b. you may stop. @ut do'n your boo"let. All
others continue.
The misanthropic graphic novel doesnt have to be sel!+indulgent or misogynistic( the proo! is Daniel
9lo'ess #host 2orld -;222.& 'hich has all the sarcasm and one+liners you could hope !or& but put into
the mouth o! t'o teenage girls& Enid 9olesla' -an anagram o! Daniel 9lo'es. and Rebecca Doppelmeyer
-re!erred to as that Rebecca DoppelgQnger.. In the tradition o! the comic+boo" double identity& Enid is
>e'ish and 'ears glasses& 'hile Rebecca is a s"inny blonde Wasp. Anyone 'ho crosses Enid and
Rebeccas path is instantly and mercilessly labelled* a loser& a %atanist& a total date+rapist& an annoying
crac" addict& a pseudo+Bohemian art+school loser etc. But the girls practise this rapid+!ire naming 'ith all
the irrepressible $oy 5 and none o! the pedantic dourness 5 o! collectors. @art o! their camaraderie
consists o! constantly loo"ing out !or interesting specimens to sho' each other( 'ith the most limited o!
suburban materials& they create a 'orld o! curiosities. Jou have to see !or yoursel!& it couldnt be better&
Enid tells Rebecca in the supermar"et& dragging her over to see the shopping cart o! the %atanist they
have been !ollo'ing& 'hich is -gasp. completely full of Lunchablebrand pac"aged lunches. The contrast
bet'een #host 2orld and Shortcomings is immediately visible* Enid and Rebecca 'ould have
appreciated the girl 'ho photographed her o'n pee every morning.
9lo'es has a rare talent !or e)posing the precariousness o! these comic escalations& 'hich can collapse
in an instant& the hilarious trans!orming into the banal. That 'asnt as much !un as last time& Rebecca
says o! the girls second !oray to ,ubba ,ubba& the Kriginal <i!ties Diner& at the e)act midpoint o! the
boo"& 'hich mar"s the beginning o! the decline o! their !riendship. Enid 'ants to go to college and
become a totally different person& 'hile Rebecca imagines the duo al'ays staying together& acting li"e
this 'hen 'ere thirty. The boo" loses steam at the end& !iBBling out 'ith an unconvincing love triangle(
but the unsatis!ying ending is& in a 'ay& a !unction o! !orm* Rebecca and Enid are cyclical characters&
transplanted into novelistic time. Cothing good lasts !orever.
F