...For Those Who Don't Do Nonfiction Comics | Day 6 of 31 Days of Comics!
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- čas přidán 19. 08. 2023
- We're back! And we jump right back into 31 Days of Comics with Day Six. This is a meaty one, as I ruminate within the video, and I'd love to know your picks for someone who doesn't 'do' nonfiction comics!
If you've missed the earlier episodes, all previous days are collected in the 31 Days of Comics playlist here: • 31 Days of Comics
Nonfiction comics in these videos:
Tetris, Andre the Giant, Andy Kaufman and More - Four Comics by BOX BROWN I Love!
• Tetris, Andre the Gian...
A Perfect Stranger: Six Comics by GUY DELISLE!
• A Perfect Stranger: Si...
Other videos of mine to watch as you wait for new episodes of 31 Days:
Check out my Creator Spotlight playlist of videos:
• Creator Spotlights
Introductions and reviews of some of my my favourite comics gathered in this playlist:
• Introductions to Class...
Check out all fifteen of our "complete comics collection" videos:
• Our Comics Collection
In fact, just check out all the different playlists I've put together!
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#31DaysofComics - Zábava
"Understanding Comics" is the mini-power book that lays it all out & explains it all to newbies. It gets them on our wavelength.
Haha, it's what put me on the road that brought me here!
Great to see you and the series back! I'll go with Zoe Thorogood's recent It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth. While it is an autobiography, it portrays Zoe's internal conflict in such a literal and fantastical way that I think it could win over some non-fiction skeptics.
I came to Impending Blindness very late so I have yet to get to the 'new' book, but your recommendation has me additionally excited for it!
@@ftloc I definitely think you should check it out! It uses some really interesting techniques to tell the story, not to mention the art is great. She's a creator to look out for in the future for sure.
Have you read Roller Girl or All's Faire by Victoria Jaimeson? It's not quite non-fiction, but pulls heavily from her real life and feels realer than some fiction. I thought you might enjoy them since you like Thorogood's Center of the Earth.
@@johnm.withersiv4352 I haven't, but I might look out for them now. Cheers for the recommendations!
Always good to have you back, hope you're doing well!
Trying to get a non-fiction fan to read non-fiction, I think depends a lot on their specific interests, which is where your pick comes into it's own as we already know they're a comics fan. I'm going to ignore that aspect though and just pick one that I think would appeal to some, but maybe not all.
Andre The Giant was the first one I thought of, but since it was already referenced in the video then I thought I'd pick something a bit more unknown, and that's Hardcore Anxiety by Reid Chancellor. This book is autobiographical, but the autobiography part is sort of weaved amongst a history lesson of mental health in popular punk rock bands. It's sounds quite niche, but I found it really interesting despite having very little knowledge of the bands. Plus it's very personal, and I think Reid does a great job weaving the two aspects together.
Thank you!
And that sounds like a terrific pick - I am not familiar with it but you have certainly whetted my appetite for it!
Snap! ... Understanding Comics would be my pick too, it amplified my appreciation for comics as a medium and is a pleasure to read and revisit.
Even returning to it for this video put a smile on my face all over again!
Like everyone else has said, I’m really glad to see you again. It’s none of our business what goes on in your life, but whatever it was we all hope your doing better. We’ll be here waiting whenever the next video comes out!
For this category, I’m going with Box Brown’s “Cannabis: The Illegalization of Weed in America”. With all the recent laws legalizing marijuana in the USA, I decided to read “Cannabis” to learn about the history of marijuana and how/why it became illegal in the first place. Loved every bit of it, and I recommended it to my non-comic reading mom who also wanted to learn about weed’s history. She ended up reading in one day and loved it.
I’ve read very few non-fiction comics so I’m picking “Cannabis” since I actually succeeded in getting someone who doesn’t read comics to read it.
Thank you so much!
And Cannabis is terrific, very like Tetris in that it has surprisingly wide appeal thanks to the zippy storytelling. And the curious double standards when it comes to alcohol and the connection to race/racism was truly eye opening for me!
I just want to say that, your channel is one of the best things which have come from India. The way comics are analyzed , i feel this channel will become a valuable archive for the future. thanks for doing this! :)
Very kind of you; thank you so much!
Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done? Eric Powell and Harold Schechter. It's not the easy of reads due to the subject matter but i think Powell's art makes it accessible to comic readers. Although it uses real facts it feels like a fictional story as well and so easier for people to make the transition.
A popular pick in this category, and with good reason! And that's a key point - picking nonfiction that reads almost like fiction, to ease the 'transition' for reluctant readers - that we recommenders should also consider!
Firstly lovely to have you back and hope the break was enough to give you waht you needed, whatever that might have been.
To matters at hand. I could easily give you a nod of agreement as Understanding Comics is wonderful and important. However in contrast to you I have used it to give to folks who don't read comics and found it can work. For folks who do read comics but not non-fiction my assumption is the key to moving them towards non-fiction is to feed their love of story. I assume if you read fiction, but not non-fiction story is your hook... maybe that's too simple? Anyway on that basis I go Barefoot Gen.
This leaves the question is this non-fiction? After all creator Keiji Nakazawa himself says its only 70% autobiography BUT I say if you include Maus in non-fiction (and it flashed up in the video) then you can include Barefoot Gen and for me its as powerful a human story as Maus and doesn't get a fraction of the attention, so on that basis it gets my vote.
Thank you so much!
And I completely agree with you - story, and one that almost feels like fiction, is definitely a way to approach this. I just thought the barriers before reading that story were too great, but I also agree that Understanding Comics may seem a bit like giving someone a textbook.
In general though, I have seen the reaction of 'cool - I wouldn't read this in prose but I will read it in a comic' to work for some people, and somewhere I was thinking if someone never reads anything other than superheroes or romance or magic vampire school comics , they can still read Understanding Comics and then go back to whatever they enjoy and perhaps get even more enjoyment or a deeper appreciation of those same works. Perhaps that was a bit ambitious of me!
And there's this slim line between 'based on a true story/ inspired by a true story' and a 'retelling of the true story'. Maus is definitely an autobiography as well as a recorded biography or another autobiography (being spoken aloud) . It's pretty much a documentary with recreation, so if Barefoot Gen is similarly a true story, I would classify it as nonfiction.
So glad you are back! I hope you are doing well! My pick would be Little victories by Yvon Roy
Thank you! And I have heard some very good things about Little Victories; I'll definitely have to check it out!
First of all, I'm really glad to see you back here. Secondly, I think I would need to know the person I'm going to recommend a non-fiction comic to. In my case, most of the people I know don't read comics, so maybe giving them any of McCloud's books wouldn't be a great idea. I think I would go for something more connected to autobiography, but the exact choice would have to be made dependent on the person's interests. Maybe David Small's "Stitches" could be a good option for most people I know. It's short, it's interesting and I believe it's a really good place to start if you are not used to read comics and you think they're just about superheroes wearing capes. But if that person's interests are connected to other things like history, feminism or politics, I wouldn't doubt of suggesting "Maus", "Fun Home", "Persepolis" or something else in that area.
Tha k you! And i absolutely agree - the best recommendations are those that take into account the person at the other end.
In this game they're all generalized though, so I like to take a particular persona in mind when coming up with picks!
I definitely would not give McCloud to someone who hasn't read comics 😁
Welcome back! I hope that now everything is OK.
My pick for this very difficult category (I read mostly nonfiction comics) is The Ukrainian and Russian Notebooks: Life and Death Under Soviet Rule by Igort (Igor Tuveri).
The author spent over 5 years in Ukraine and Russia and in the book he narrated what eyewitnesses told him during his stay. At times, I really had the feeling that I was reading someone's notebook, which was intensified by the fact that some of the pages were lined up like a notebook. The first part of the book focuses mainly on the Holodomor - the mass famine of 1932 and 1933. The second focuses on the second war in Chechnya and the North Caucasus, and more specifically the bullying by the Russian military and the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, who fought for exposing them.
The graphic novel is very difficult to read. I can define it as a mixture between Alexander Solzhenitsyn and Joe Sako. In fact, I can't even think of a refreshing moment in it, but the topic itself doesn't suggest it. I liked the part about Ukraine more. The one about Chechnya, in my opinion, suffers again from the problem which I also have with Safe Area Goražde by Joe Sako - only one point of view is presented. However, I must note that the terrorist acts in Beslan and Dubrovka have a part in the book, but I was left with the impression that they are somewhat justified in a higher purpose (stopping the war and withdrawing the Russian military).
I really like the art. Part of it is presented in masterful graphics, and the other is in color, and the colors are chosen extremely well - beige, brown, gray, ocher and an emphasis on red where necessary. Often you don't even need to read the text - the illustrations are enough.
Thank you!
And tough category indeed! But I think you managed a great pick! Have you had the chance to recommend it to someone and observe their reactions?
@@ftloc yes, I have recommended it several times in my own country (Bulgaria) and the reactions were very positive. Our country has a strong connection with Ukraine and Russia, which further enhances the effect of this graphic novel on its readers.
I just found your channel. Loved what I saw. And now I find out you "are back". So there's lots to catch up with. Cheers from a Comics fan from Holland.
So glad to have you on board and a very warm welcome to the channel; here's hope you find plenty to enjoy! Cheers from India!
Welcome back😊, i think Maus has proven to be that book opened doors to comic readers that never considered reading fiction comics, especially here in North America.
Understanding Comics is fascinating and i reread it a number of time, great choice! So is tetris!
It would be almost impossible to truly gauge the impact of Maus! Terrific pick!
"Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done?" by Harold Schechter and Eric Powell would be my choice. The opening chapter has Alfred Hitchcock presenting a story that has been adapted to the point where it's considered a cliché. One can read it as a horror comic featuring a morbid origin story of a villain.
Excellent choice, I would have gone with it too or Kent State - but aren't these considered as biographical portrait of true events.. So don't know if they will count
True Crime is definitely the one nonfiction genre that I think may appeal to even the most fiction obsessed comics reader. If it wasn't for me avoiding biography due to the persona I had created. I would probably have leaned in that direction too!
The Dotter of Her Father's Eyes by Mary and Bryan Talbot is a very good biography of Lucia Joyce.
Fantastic pick! It is also a great autobiography, making it a double qualifier! 😊
Non-fiction is my favourite! There are so many if only I did a video about my favourite 5 😬 one that doesn’t get as much love as I think it deserves is Epileptic by David B. The relentless honesty; the exploration of his families history in the hope of putting it into context; the main story of how a family deals with a member struggling and being let down by society and medicine; the art being so stylised, making every panel into a painting you could get lost in; all of these things make it special to me. Very glad to see your lovely face and hear the dulcet tones of your voice! Hope you are doing well!
Haha you sure know how to make a guy feel he's been missed!
There's really an entire festival one could do around nonfiction comics, and trying to get a pick for today has made me realize that I've only just scratched the surface, And I will say that alongside Palestine and Maus, Epileptic was the other nonfiction comic I read back in the day when getting 'back' into comics that really cemented the deal. I'm honestly as surprised as you that it isn't more celebrated, for example in an original sized anniversary edition (in English).
it becomes so poetic on this channel, and nostalgic. now I have to search for the exact meaning of the words...
dulcet: (especially of sound) sweet and soothing.
soothing: having a gently calming effect.
at the end of the 31 days, I will be fluent in English.
Hope you and your family are doing well and welcome back! My pick would definitely be The Fifth Beatle by vivek j tiwary & andrew c robinson. As far back as i can remember the Beatles were one of my favorite artists and this book definitely captures the era and struggles of managing such a group. The story of Brian Epstein is such a fascinating story that no matter who reads it wether they are a Beatles fan or not will maybe think twice before dismissing comics.
Thank you!
And I have come to really love The Fifth Beatle. I think I talked about it one of my livestreams where I chatted a bit about my preconceived notions about what this biography would be like and how wrong I was! Goes to show, bias against biographies shows up even in seasoned readers. I was so glad to finally read this wholly unique and memorable comic!
I visited Gosh Comics in London (as I said I would the next time I was there). It was a great shop and I made a couple of purchases. My only complaint was whilst there…I was standing still minding my own business when suddenly a customer (who had paid for his goods) just knocked me out of the way as he walked past me, sent me flying to the side. No ‘excuse me’, just banged me out of the way. No ‘sorry’ afterwards or even a look in my direction, he just carried on out of the door without the slightest acknowledgment. Shop was nice but that unbelievably rude encounter did unfortunately spoil my experience. 🙁
That's unfortunate but I'm glad you had n otherwise great time and hopefully that individual isn't there the next time! 😁
Glad to see you back, doing well and that the countdown goes on. Now to the task at hand.
This is really difficult to place for because I don't read enough nonfiction comics. The twist of it being a nonfiction comic for people who don't like non fiction comics makes it only harder.
My first answer is to pick Will Eisner's Contract with God Trilogy, because some of the stories are based on Eisner's experiences growing up in depression era New York city. I could even argue that the large trends in the history of America. The fact that these narratives are presented as stories would help people to learn more than just a straight textbook, but ultimately I think that because only some of the stories are true that I have to disqualify it.
So my actual pick is Dark Knight A True Batman Story by Paul Dini and Eduardo Barreto. This harrowing story shows the power that superheroes have in helping people to get through unspeakable tragedy and hardships. While dealing with heavier topics it's still an approachable read that even the most hardened non fiction hater can get behind.
Dark Night is one of the most appropriate picks for this category! Especially for readers who may not have read anything outside of superhero comics, and those familiar with Paul Dini, this would be the perfect bridge. But it could also be switched to readers skeptical of superhero comics as well. Great pick!
Nice to see you back. I haven't read a nonfiction yet but i have downloaded a copy of Ducks to read soon.
Thank you! And I'd love to know what you think of Ducks when you've read it!
Great to see you back! 🔥✒️🖤🖋🔥
Tha k you! Good to BE back!
It's been mentioned before but it was my first thought: Pyongyang by Guy Delisle
No matter how many times it is mentioned, it will always remain a great pick! 😊
Man it's good to have you back man I missed your videos a lot. As for this category I don't really have an answer.
Thank you so much! And this IS a tough category, for many reasons. I hope the comments help you find some interesting picks from others!
@@ftlocthanks and welcome back🎉
Some auto-bio comics can be naval gazing and feel too slice of life and plotless to appeal to readers not in the mood for it. One I recommend to people that's non-fiction is The Photographer by Emmanuel Guibert. Although several Guibert comics would probably fit. Plus, the greatest graphic novels, Maus (Spielgelman) and Persephone (Satrapi) are also great non-fiction. I still think I'd go with Guibert.
I'm not surprised you had the Box Brown reference. I haven't read the Tetris book yet.
'Persephone' > 'Persepolis'
I have to read the books by Emmanuel Guibert. I know I will enjoy them. 'Persepolis' by Marjane Satrapi is interesting, funny. For me 'Persepolis' by Marjane Satrapi and 'L'Arabe du futur' by Riad Sattouf have a lot in common. I love both. The animation movie 'Persepolis' is also great.
@@tinustinus571 Yep, Persepolis. My bad. Thanks for the correction.
@@johnm.withersiv4352 I like 'Persephone' too, but (for me) it's not a book by Marjane Satrapi, it 's a beautiful song by the Canadian singer Allison Russell. And this channel is not about music, not yet.🤣
There are so many excellent ones that a Top 10 Autobio Comics would be very, very hard for me to make! 😊
@@ftloc It would be hard.
Glad to see you are back. I myself didn't read non-fiction comics for a long time. So if I had to recommend to my past self who didn't read non-fiction I'd pick Torso by Bendis and Andreyko. Standalone true crime, packaged in noir. Apart from the story, the artwork uses actual case evidences and pictures and also very unique use of the panels and spacing of the art. Now I don't know how much creative liberty if at all has been taken, but seems to be pretty thorough and well researched. Also a perfect segue for people who've seen The Untouchables movie.
Now in case Torso doesn't count as non-fiction then Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done? by Powell and Schechter.
Yes, there's a thin line between nonfiction and fictionalized or 'inspired by' stories. In general, it depends on what was made up or imagined, so it becomes a case-by-case examination.
I'd say that Eddie Gein is definitely nonfiction, whereas I am not sure about Torso, not having read it. But I wouldn't mind checking it out if I can find it, I share a deep nostalgic fondness for The Untouchables 😊
Hands down it's The Photographer by Guibert, Lefevre and Lemercier.
A great, and underrated, book!
As always, this video is outstanding and this recommendation is eye-opening.
Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it and I appreciate the kind words!
Welcome back!
Thank you!
I learned through Guy Delisle and Joe Sacco that comics platform works well with non-fiction too. Having said that this is time I feel like I arrived to a party where I am not dressed as well as the rest and my present to host pales in comparison. But I will party anyway🥳My non-fiction collection is still very small. I think it’s because for a small town boy like me comics have always been first and mostly escapism. The task was to suggest a non-fiction comic book I’d offer to someone else trying to get them hooked. My first choice was Once Upon A Time In France. It’s a good story with beautiful art. The book describes itself as fiction although it is based on real people and historical Events so I decided to not mention it here at all.
So I went with Tardis WW1 book It Was The War Of The Trenches. It’s anecdotal but so is most stories like that. Stories that real people tell about real events. They may not be 100% accurate. They may be completely wrong - it’s how memory works. But they describe past as they remember it - or how they want to remember it. Every memoir is like that. War books are not for everyone but out of my collection it fits this days theme the best.
I know what you mean - they are anecdotal stories, many from his grandfather, that Tardi puts on to paper in that book, so it may lie in that blurry zone between fiction and documentary. And that is why nonfiction is such an interesting term, over say documentary or news report. "It is not a lie" sometimes is more in focus than "It is true", or somewhat along those lines.
One of my all time favourite comics no matter what!
Funny enough the term non-fiction got me thinking more than the task given here. I did some mulling over it for a day or two after seeing this video. It says something deeper and more meaningful about the written stories. Fiction is the main word and then for stories depicting reality/truth etc. there is the word of non-fiction to undo the fiction word. We don´t call them real stories. Those are the two main categories under which then lies subcategories like documentary/news etc. or scifi/fantasy etc. And those subcategories are by default with different names. If one was to make fictional history story it would be called alternate history or something similar but never just a history. Kind of obvious but for some reason I find this interesting topic.🤷♂
So glad to have you back! It allows me to fuss about terms and such things that would put most people to sleep. @@ftloc
This is a tough one. I think your book is a good choice, however, I don't think those I know would even read that non-fiction book. It may remind them of school, I'm pretty sure that would be the response I'd get. I began thinking about book readers I've known through my life, and there were some that wouldn't read fiction, just non-fiction like biographies and history. The memoir and autobiography readers were in their own world, too. I don't read many of the latter, and if I do, they tend to be by fiction or history writers. The writer, Gore Vidal, I noticed over the decade continued to be popular with history readers who admitted they didn't read his fiction (or any fiction for that matter). They enjoyed his essays and historical novels. It's good to see you back.
So good to be back and back chatting with you! I know exactly the same kinds of groups - only history, only biographies, no fiction.
And absolutely if someone doesn't want to read educational material, my pick would be a tough sell.
But if thought of this as being the one exception. How after reading this, they can go back to the comics they usually read and analyse them differently now...
Too idealistic? 😁
Not at all. A reader would look at the comics very differently. But how to get them to the starting line...@@ftloc
I will always recommend sacco!
Who wouldn't?❤️
I've had some luck recommending Box Brown, especially Cannabis for some reason. I think my pick, though I haven't actually recommended it anytime would be Kent State, which i learned from this channel! Great example of how comics can be used to communicate high density information effectively and efficiently.
Kent State is a great example of how documentary is also storytelling, not just 'historical news! Derf Backderf is a nonfiction master!
Wow, I didn't know that exists comics about Richard Feynman. I have book 'Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!' and I love it. I'll have to check the comics.
To the topic... From the comics that I already read (yes, I have Undersanding Comics in my library but didn't readi it yet) I will recomend 'La Bombe' by Alcante, Laurent-Frédéric Bollée and Denis Rodier'. It's very well written and drawn. It's not topic for everyone probably but it will be the same at every non fiction comics. Not matter whether its science, music, war or sex. So 'La Bombe' from me.
I think you would love Feynman by Ottoviani and Myrick! And thank you for the recommendation!
My son just finished 'making comics' last week after he read 'understanding comics'. No recommendation needed ; ) Good to see you back, hopefully in a good place!
Your son sounds like an individual of good taste, congratulations! 😁
And thank you, that's very kind.
This pick has troubled me. I believe that your pick was the perfect one but I wouldnt have thought of it myself. So my choice is Box Brown's Andre The Giant: Life and Legend. It is a great little book andhis life is so amazing that I have caught my self thinking: This cant have really happenned! So its a non fiction book that can be as "unbelievable" as a fiction one
Great pick and some terrific reasoning behind it! The borderline between believable and unbelievable is a prime area for nonfiction
I had to think real long and hard to see if there was another comic I'd recommend over this one, but... No, not really. I agree with you that this would be the best one if we interpret the target audience as "people who read comics but don't read non-fiction". Another option would be Fred van Lente's "The Comic Book History of Comics", which is exactly what it says in the title.
I've been looking for the Lente book for a while but no luck yet!
- my favorite comic: Nausicaa of the valley of the wind by Hayao Miyazaki
- a comic to reccomend to anyone: Peanuts by Charles Schulz
- a great adaptation: 1984 by Fido Nesti
- a great love story: A taste of chlorine by Bastien Vivés
- my first comic pursued: Dampyr (various artists - italian comic series)
- Nonfiction comic: Pyongyang by Guy Delisle
I would advice this work by Guy Delisle because I think as a travel journal could appeal to many comics lovers and is also very entertaining. Also Even if it is a bit updated is still worth reading and have a snapshot of a unique country like North Korea.
As a fan of Delisle's and Pyongyang in particular, I heartily second and applaud this pick!
First time not having an idea what to put here
So I'll say what you said cause I want to buy it now
Great to see you back! My pick would be Galapagos by Michael Olbrechts. It tells the story of the first inhabitants of the isle Floreana, a Galapagos island. The story was and is so bizar that it was a total surprise to me that it was a non fiction story. A story that could absolutely please a non fiction comic reader.
One of those books I have heard about but never gotten my hands on!
And thank you, good to be back!
I don't have a problem with non-fiction. When I was about 10 my mom gave me a comic about the Napoleonic Wars. It specifically featured the battles of Austerlitz and Waterloo. I don't think she noticed it was comics, and even I didn't think of it as comics. Still, I kept it and still have it. I don't specifically go after non-fiction. I own a biography of Geronimo from an indy publisher, and I liked Reinhard Kleist's The Boxer, about boxer Harry Saft. I tried the famous American Splendor and found that Harvey Pekar is not as interesting as he thinks he is. There's a Portuguese comic called Porto Bomvento, by the recently deceased José Ruy, with an insert into otherwise historical events from the Age of Portuguese Discoveries. It's better illustrated than being a proper story.
Ah, yet more that I need to look for (and hope is available in English). Thank you!
And i completely see how American Splendor will not be to all tastes, but i quite love that comic 😁
I see someone down in the comments has already mentioned Glenn Head's "Chartwell Manor," which really is a masterpiece. If you've gone through the experiences Head went through, your story is always worth telling and worth listening to. His earlier autobiographical book, "Chicago," is also very good. I'd love to see your take on these two books.
Both those books are now on my to find list, thanks a lot! 😁
Glad to see you back!!!
Thank you! Hope you're doing well!
Gonna go with my lesbian experience with Loneliness by Kabi Nagata, an intimate portrayal of a burgeoning sexuality and longing. I think the shorter length, it being a standalone story, manga-cartooning, and not overly depressing makes it accessible to ppl who may be put off by non-fiction
Thanks, I'm going to look that up!
Welcome back! Myself and my girlfriend have recently become very good friends with a couple from West Bengal, who live and work here in Ireland. They're big Tintin fans, and they say that Tintin is a superstar in India. Why is this? It seems so random for a very European comic to be so popular in India! Rory
Thank you! And what a great question 😁
It is wholly fitting that your friends are Bengali (just like I am) because it is well known that Bengalis have a special affinity towards Tintin 😁. A lot of this has to do with Tintin being translated and printed in a Bengali periodical (Anandamela) in the 1970s, a translation that was a labour of love and based on the original French and not the English. The Bengali translation is widely hailed as one that preserves and even builds on the flavour and jokes of the original, in things like character names etc.
Later, Tintin was also serialized in some newspapers and the Methuen paperbacks imported and available in bookstores and libraries (I learned of Tintin because my mother had read them in the periodical and borrowed the English albums from a library).
All of this, especially at a time not only before the internet or cable TV but also when India had a closed economy and restricted imports and 'foreign' media, meant that Tintin was like Mickey Mouse - an ambassador of foreign lands, a window into worlds of not just adventure but drawing and printing - that was formative to entire generations, and not just English speaking ones.
There are a lot of Tintin fans who would be able to tell you in much more detail why exactly Tintin is so popular, but there's also a sense of 'end of an era' about it. The love for Tintin is one shared by older generations now, tinged with nostalgia and memory of awakening.
I bet you weren't expecting this long ramble, but it really is quite a fascinating phenomenon 😁
@ftloc I wasn't expecting that long ramble but I certainly enjoyed reading it! The comparison to Mickey Mouse is really interesting and totally makes sense. Tintin allowed Indian people to travel with him and showed them his world at a time when they couldn't visit it themselves. And I guess it is fitting that Tintin visited India on a number of occasions, and made some great friends there such as the Maharaja of Gaipajama and his son. In fact it is fitting that what I consider to be one of Herge's masterpieces, The Blue Lotus, starts in India. Thanks again for your really interesting reply, I'm looking forward to telling Panchatapa and Debanjan about your explanation when we have a few pints this weekend (they really adapted well to that part of Irish culture!) 🇮🇳
louis riel and paying for it by chester brown. And Tim Winsley recently released an oversized 40 pager on apocryphal stories about Alfred Hitchcock.
I don't think the Hitchcock comic which is quite entertaining would count here, but the Chester Brown books are great contenders. How would you classify Mary Wept at the Feet of Jesus?
Welcome back! I'm going to go with Glenn Head's "Chartwell Manor". It's gripping, powerful but also down-to-earth. (Trigger warning to anybody here who doesn't want to read content related to childhood abuse).
Thank you! And thanks for that recommendation, I need to look it up!
Great stuff
Thank you, so glad you enjoyed it!
Great choice!
Thanks! What would yours be?
@@ftloc Maybe 'Brought To Light', Persopolis, Maus, or maybe non fiction 'influenced' like 'The Nam'. (drama/documentary?)
Besides Scott McClouds Understanding Comics, I don't think I've ever read a nonfiction comic. But I've always wanted to read Persepolis.
I find comics bring a unique intimacy and insight to many different types of nonfiction, which makes it an endlessly fascinating area to explore, without even being conscious of it. Reportage and autobiography are things I can read in prose, and I can read in comics just as easily, and it has the potential of being just as rich.
I hope you find plenty of recommendations in the comments here! Cheers!
I could mention Fortune & Glory or Total sell out again but can I opt for Torso, the story of Eliot Ness hunting the first serial killer after he captured Al Capone. There are still a lot of musical biographys I want to check out.
Wow. I didn't know Eliot Ness hunted a serial killer!
we miss your videos!
This meant a lot to me. Thank you.
Welcome back and I hope everything is ok. For this category I would like to suggest a series of books under the common moniker “The Big Book of…” an anthology of small stories published by Factoid Book/Paradox Press, an imprint of DC comics. The complete series has 17 books, and each one is suitable adequate to this category with a mix of history, contemporary facts and folklore.
Best wishes
Thank you! And those sound intriguing, I'll have to see if I can find any. What a coincidence though, as the edition of UC in this video is the DC/Paradox edition! 😁
I found the Black And White version of Shooting Star
Wow, where? I thought the Shooting Star was the first colour Tintin adventure.
Do you have an ISBN or something like that?
Man you had us all worried with the 2 month gap. I do hope everything has been well and it has merely been being busy on the dayjob front.
Thank you, good to be back! It is more of a family/health thing , not work, but it's all just part of life isn't it?
Life is a biscuit, yes @@ftloc
I'm generally the not non-fiction guy, but of course, there are dozens exceptions, meaning I'm the "not immediately drawn to non-fiction" guy. I love Understanding Comics & I loved Tetris too!
I think once you've enjoyed even two nonfiction books, you are way more open to reading another, as opposed to someone who has never done it at all.
Honestly, after a point of time it ceases to be a distinction, at least not beyond that of style.
I am going to go with Logicomix
I had the Logicomix cover in the edit but somehow it wasn't enabled for the render, leaving it out, alongside a couple of other comics covers. I love that book!
@@ftloc Same. Some really good books and recommendations in this category. Also, glad to see you back.
Haven't read a lot of non fiction. But from what i can think of my pick would be Rosalie lightning
Ooh, tell me more abut that; I am not familiar
@@ftloc Don't want to give away too much but I can say this one of the best depictions of grief I have seen.
Unflattening by Nick Sousanis 😬
Oh that's a strong and bold pick!
For this topic I initially thought of Delisle or Box Brown, but honestly, I'll have to go with Sumit Kumar's brilliant Amar Bari Tomar Bari Naxalbari - a chronicle of a grossly undertaught chapter in Indian history, told humorously without ignoring the gravity of the issue.
Solid, solid picks, especially if the person you're giving the book to is Indian (and shares the common mindset that comics, even nonfiction comics) are not grown up reading...
I'm yet to explore non fiction, since the main reason i read comics/manga is for stories. Its the same with books as well. I'd be down to read non fiction comics related to my field but my field os statistics/data science/programming which hardly gets comics
The thing ish, nonfiction is full of stories! They just happen to be true, but most have beginnings, middles and ends, they have characters and motivations tec.
Even journalism is essentially the telling of stories, and the great nonfiction comics out there display this.
That's kind of why I don't usually separate them when talking about comics I like, and they show up in my Top 10s or spotlight videos without special categorisation. But I suppose there's a difference for some readers that I would love to explore!
comics
Speaking of manga, Felipe Smith pulled heavily from his life in both MBQ (Tokyo Pop) and Peepo Choo (Vertical) so they're really real feeling fiction but not quite non-fiction. I haven't went too deep into non-fiction manga but it's out there.
If you asked me for a nonfiction comic to reccomend I'd have to go with my Hometown hero, one Harvey Pekar's great book American Splendor. These stories are short (for the most part) and very accessible. Even though his stories are taken from real life sometimes I think of them as fiction. He changes some names in the stories a bit and sometimes he doesn't remember exactly what's being said. What do you think
I know he is not everyone's cup of tea, but I absolutely love Harvey Pekar and American Splendor. I'd definitely call the stories non-fiction, almost proudly and loudly so, in spite of the name changes (which I think is standard practice in a lot of nonfiction)
It's curious to me that there has not yet been a Complete American Splendor set put together yet.
I guess I’d go with Vagabond about Musashi Miyamoto
I can't comment authoritatively since I have not read it, but I was under the impression it was based on Miyamoto's life but was a fictionalized version?
@@ftloc that is true, but close enough I think. Pure nonfiction is irredeemable.
Let's assume this is day six. Let's hope I won't die before the months end😂.
Edit: Pass. No one I know read comics.
we all worry about dying before the end of the month (31 days)!
@@tinustinus571 31 days of comics I mean. You okay?
@@comicsdude3166 I liked your joke. I just say that we all (the subscribers of the channel) worry as you do because we all enjoy these "31 days". It's just a corollary of your joke (like special relativity and general relativity).🤣
I shall do my utmost to ensure this series finishes within our lifetimes! 😁
Does 'Kent State' count? If not then Sapiens would be my choice
It definitely counts and is a rock solid picks. As meticulous and gripping as any documentary
@@ftloc couldn't agree more
Another choice would be Mysteries of the quantum universe by Thibault Damour and Mathieu Barniat
Now that sounds like something I need to read!
@@ftloc I am little surprised you haven't read that already.. Pls do read. Highly recommended. It's fun book with lots of scientific insights.