THE TALK - Serio Comics 17
THE TALK written and drawn by Darrin Bell, published by Henry Holt and Co. and Macmillan
I had my talk today with Jordan B. Gorfinkel from last week’s enthusiasm about his PASSOVER HAGGADAH GRAPHIC NOVEL.
He had some interesting things to say about the current state of traditional versus self-publishing based on his own experience recently meeting with comics publishers.
And when I mentioned this Seriocomics Substack platform, he loved how it’s a place not just for serializing my debut graphic novel SHOULD WE BUY A GUN?
But also to educate potential readers about what else is available to read in the graphic form.
I spent a large part of this week querying the bulk of a list of 130 or so literary agencies that have represented graphic books.
Many come from this handy list put together by Niki Smith.
One thing that literary agents look for when you are submitting books is something called comps, or comparable titles.
Often they want recent books, which is interesting with graphic literature, because even seasoned veterans can take years to produce one.
While looking for potential recent comps for SHOULD WE BUY A GUN? I came across a book by fellow Substack creator and cartoonist
from 2023.Which I read this week and greatly enjoyed.
The list of accolades is tremendous:
Winner of the NAACP Image Award in Outstanding Graphic Novels
Winner of the Libby Award for Best Comic/Graphic Novel of the Year
Named The Year's Best Graphic Novel by Publishers Weekly
Named one of Publishers Weekly's Top Ten Best Books of 2023
Named one of NPR's Books We Love
Named one of Kirkus' Best 2023 Books
Named one of the Washington Post's 10 best graphic novels of 2023
One of TIME Magazine's Must-Read Books of the Year
Shortlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction 2024
Booklist Editors' Choice: Graphic Novels, 2023
New York Public Library's Best New Comics of 2023 Top Ten Pick
Chicago Public Library's Best Books of 2023 Top Ten Pick
Named one of School Library Journal's Best Graphic Novels of 2023
Named one of The Guardian's Best Graphic Novels of 2023
And there is indeed much to enthuse about the graphic memoir.
Which is available from Goodreads, indie retailers at Bookshop.org, from the publisher Macmillan, at Skylight here in LA, and via Amazon.
THE TALK takes a political yet personal concept, how to have or receive the talk about the fact and effects of racism, and makes it immediately understandable.
It portrays the seriousness of its subject in a light way that makes it both approachable and visceral portraying with depth and heart the scope of the issue.
I noticed in Darrin’s experience that younger people tend to want to believe they can take on issues and solve them or that they have been solved.
This bombast of idealism though often becomes a belief in incrementalism.
How things stay the same, yet also get a little better.
Bell also perceptively shows how political satire can often have unaware externalities.
After 9/11 Darrin makes a cartoon against terrorism with characters in turbans.
But the result ironically reinforces similar problems he’s experienced himself.
Bell also shows how bounds of progressiveness can ironically be pushed sometimes beyond comfort zones in ways people didn’t feel when they were younger.
The 2040 version might be the pro gay marriage people become people against marriage to more than one person or marriage to AI…Who knows?!
I went on a hike with the executive producer of The New Yorker’s short films that were nominated for the Oscars this past Sunday.
And afterward over tacos we had a talk about how it’s almost become trendy to disavow the idea that as artists we make art to have an impact on the world.
So I was happy to see Darrin’s character both admit that it’s still the main reason he does what he does but also to find a way to acknowledge the humbleness of it.
You can check out Darrin Bell’s Substack here!
For Paid Subscribers a brief story below about noticing my racial bias and making changes after anti-racist reflection in my own graphic novel SHOULD WE?
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Serio Comics to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.