Comic World News | Past the Front Racks

April 22, 2008:
CWN and the Grand Finale! -

February 4, 2008:
In Conclusion - David ends his CWN run with Tezuka's MW from Vertical

February 2, 2008:
Acting Like You Have Nothing to Prove -

February 2, 2008:
The Shoegazer Returns - A New Year Begins, And Our Narrator Makes A Pledge

January 30, 2008:
Tim's Reviews -

September 13, 2007:
Wizard World Chicago Loot, Part One - Stykman, Empty Chamber, the Ztarian Saga, and yes, Little Bunny Foo Foo

February 15, 2007:
I Come Not to Bury Nick Cage... - But to mourn the death of my punchline

November 20, 2006:
The End - Rich's last Chicks & Romance

November 8, 2006:
Joann Sfar's Klezmer - And a Front Racks Hiatus

October 4, 2006:
This Month's Guest: Dave Gibbons - From the pages of Elephantmen!

September 18, 2006:
Back in Berlin - or How I spent my summer

July 29, 2006:
KICKING UP A STORM - An interview with David Lloyd

June 19, 2006:
You Ain't Never Had A Friend Like Me. - Graeme looks at Spidey's "genies"

December 18, 2005:
Disappointed - Sad news for fans of Busiek's CONAN, Stephen King, and others

December 13, 2004:
JUSTICE UNPLUGGED 2 at last !!! - By Fabrice Sapolsky & Xavier Fournier

December 2, 2004:
THE TWELFTH AND FINAL STEP - Say it ain't so, Dan.

November 23, 2004:
The importance of editing -

September 29, 2004:
Mystery and Conundrum indeed! - Where in the world is Jason Pomerantz?

September 13, 2004:
Hello and Goodbye and Hello Again - Change is in the air at CWN and it smells sweet.

August 12, 2004:
The Rise of the Web Toon - New Business Model or Dumb Luck?

July 30, 2004:
The Name Says it All... - Spin Doctors revamp Boomerang.

July 27, 2004:
Bigger Isn't Always Better -

June 8, 2004:
Pre-emptive Strike: MoCCA Arts Festival - Looking forward to the con, rather than looking back at it

The Layer Method
Our top Secret time-saving technique for creating and merging balloons and tails in Illustrator.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Joann Sfar's Klezmer

And a Front Racks Hiatus

KLEZMER Book One: Tales of the Wild East
Words and pictures by Joann Sfar
Published by First Second Books
135 color pages for $16.95

Joann Sfar�s Vampire Loves was adorable. The Rabbi�s Cat was delectable. I have a feeling Joann Sfar could illustrate the Republican Newsletter and make it fun. So, I guess I need to get a bias out of the way immediately. Sfar�s art is intoxicating. Something about those loose lines and that watercolor wash makes his work impossible to resist.

In Vampire Loves, the story meandered, but the visuals held everything together. In The Rabbi�s Cat, everything meshed. KLEZMER Book One: Tales of the Wild East, from First Second Books is more like the latter. KLEZMER is perfection bound as an assuming paperback book.

Through circumstances mostly beyond their control, and as the only path to survival, a small group of outcasts unite as an impromptu musical group. The story begins with Noah Davidovich, the only survivor of his Jewish musical group, escaping and exacting revenge on the rival musical group that murdered his bandmates. Davidovich attracts the eye of the beautiful young Chava, who resembles Zlabya from The Rabbi�s Cat. Chava is all untamed curls, freckles, and bosom. She tells Davidovich, �Men usually notice me.� He�s not biting, but he allows her to follow him on the road.

Then you meet Yaacov, a spurned rabbinical student, who stumbles across Vincenzo. Vincenzo and Yaacov then find Tshokola hanging from a tree. At that point the cast is complete, but the Yaacov, Vincenzo, and Tshokola take a circuitous route to Davidovich and Chava. KLEZMER is a very musical book. Yes, the characters are all musicians, or musicians in training, but the characters themselves are musical. The love of a repeated chord or a Jewish folk song lives on almost every page. As a reader you feel a real kinship with Sfar�s creations. You feel connected to history through this bit of fiction.

Along the way, Sfar�s tale wanders and strolls a bit, which seems to like a common trait in his writing. You�ll never notice though; on every page the art demands your attention. Watercolor is splashed on, barely covering the sections it should cover. White page shows around the border of the color, but it looks perfect. Background colors change from scene to scene, probably depending on Sfar�s mood. Some of the faraway figures are just a rough tangle of lines, barely suggesting form and shape. However, it�s always clear what character you see. This art is equal parts children�s book and art art. You can imagine almost any panel framed on your wall.

I approached KLEZMER with no expectations. I walked away enriched and entertained. This is a book to cherish. Visit the First Second Books website for samples. You shouldn�t have trouble finding the book in most bookstores or comic shops, either. Go get your copy.

I�ve decided to put Past the Front Racks on hiatus. It�s been clear to me that other aspects of my life have become more important to me than writing this column. To continue at my current level of effort would be a disservice to both readers and publishers. Michael May and I have talked and we�ll keep Past the Front Racks on the Comic World News masthead. I�ll also remain here as the columns editor.

I have to admit, I have a difficult job keeping up with what�s happening in comics lately. All of the information is neatly compiled by bright and often very entertaining peers that I�ve grown used to reading weekly if not daily. But I find I rarely make the effort to visit those blogs and sites that were such a part of my routine. There are people out there doing a much better job than I am at keeping their finger on the pulse of independent comics. They remind me of how I used to feel about comics. I�ll feel that way again, but for now other things need my attention.

I�m not bored with comics. I love them still. However, my new job has proven to be more rewarding and challenging than I thought. I�ve still got the SIZE MATTERS blog, and probably graduate school looming on the horizon. My life has simply become too full and too interesting. There are only a certain number of hours in the day, and at the end of most days I find comics have been pushed to the side.

I imagine I�ll come back to Past the Front Racks. Maybe a month or two from now, maybe next summer. I�m not sure when, but I know I won�t be able to stay away for good. I�d like to thank Michael for keeping the light on for me. Writing and editing for CWN has been a treat. There is no drama or conflict here. We get along, we respect each other, and we write about comics. That�s a very good thing, especially when most of us do this for free and in our spare time.