The Spine-Tingling Tales of THOMAS OTT, and the Fantagraphics Hardcover Collection
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- čas přidán 28. 01. 2023
- Swiss artist Thomas Ott is a unique and indelible artist, and I consider him an undersung favorite. Part of the reason may be the brevity of his works, another may be the scarcity (of available editions; there's no shortage of stories!)
Join me for a quick look at what I have been able to gather over the years, what I've been able to piece together about the Fantagraphics library of Thom as Ott's work, as well as some hopes for the future.
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Brother you deserve a million subscribers, I have been watching your content for years now, I've found myself watching videos over and over, I learnt about Jason through you as well as building stories which I thought was just simply amazing!
So lovely to hear; thanks for making my day! Those are some great pickups, and i hope your enjoyment of this channel continues for a long, long time to come!
So true, I discovered this channel years ago, hands down one of the best out there...
Your informative reviews are exactly what I was looking for without spoilers. I absolutely agree with all that you've said on this and other reviews you have made. Thanks for opening my eyes to such amazing pieces of art that I hope to flip through one day. :)
Thank you so much; I'm so glad you enjoyed this video and l'll keep making the videos as long as you keep watching them! 😁
Wasn't sure which of your best of 2022 to pick up first, but this video really intrigued me. My copy of The Forest came in recently and I really loved it. It was a very unique experience for me; I have read and loved some similarly wordless Shaun Tan stories, but Thomas Ott's style in The Forest evokes a more subconscious interpretation that brought me back to the book multiple times.
A large part of why I love Ott's comics so much is how they appear as if they should be quick one time reads but end up being works that you can linger over or often return to, and keep being rewarded for doing so. Truly masterful!
Glad to see you feel the same way about The Forest, and i hope you enjoyed the video! Cheers!
I'm very late to the party in discovering this channel, but I'm so glad I did! I've been devouring videos these past several days, learning about new authors, artists, and titles. I'm also spending a bit and picking up some new titles, both of which happen to be from Fantagraphics--"Streets of Paris, Streets of Murder: The Complete Graphic Noir of Manchette & Tardi," and "Perramus the City and Oblivion." I have you to thank for discovering both these books, and I can't wait for them to arrive! Cheers!
How lovely to hear; thank you and a very warm welcome to the channel! Those are some great books you've picked, and you'll have to let me know what you thought of them when you get a chance to read them!
And as I was told once "there's no such thing as late to a party that shows no signs of stopping!" 😁
Wow this art is amazing. Really conveys an off-kilter creepy world.
Absolutely, and he knows just how to use it, allowing the pulp of the plots to keep them from being stomach churning, and maintaining the eerie tone!
RIP arrived in the post yesterday. AAAARGH! Black glossy pages always leave greasy fingerprints on every page even though my fingers aren't particularly sweaty or greasy. I'm buying a pair of this cotton gloves to wear before I take it on. I'm quite serious.
Haha, i have the opposite problem - extremely dry hands, - which I suppose I should now develop an appreciation for? 😁
Let me know what you thought of the stories in RIP!
I tried a pair of thin white cotton gloves that my dad uses to handle photographic negatives when handling the book. They leave a mark too. I'm very disappointed by the lack of sympathy or viable solutions I've had from your followers for this devastating problem I have here.
I've only read a couple of the stories but "Clean Up" is a direct copy (or homage) to the EC story "Touch and Go" drawn by Johnny Craig I think. Ott describes it as "A Crime Suspense Story" so he's clearly aware of the EC original.
When you consider my own fingerprint problem with this book this is all quite ironic.
I recommend you start a noir story 'Sometimes even kid gloves ain't enough...'
I'd love to see if I can find Touch and Go anywhere - thanks for that pointer!
Congratulations my friend. Your analysis on Thomas Ott work is spot on. He is an amazing artist but far from being the only recurring to this technique successfully. Also and don’t how “popular” he is here in Europe due to his let’s say, art-noir style, but those that admire and appreciate a good b/w contrast narrative know where to look. In a way I would say artists like Charles Burns, Peter Kuper, Martírio, Mezzo among others share a much more closer sensibility to this style than we might think. Really hope that FB republishes all Ott books in near future…
Thank you; I take it as a major compliment if a fan and scholar of Ott's work likes the video! I really hope for reprints too; it's just a shame that more people don't get an opportunity to read his stories!
Jules Stromboni does not use the same technique for his graphic novel "Mazzeru" but he creates beautiful black and white drawings (drawing on rhodoid).
Hi Angshuman! I cannot thank you enough for introducing me to Thomas Ott.
Looking forward to many more such amazing videos from you. Happy 2023!!!
Happy 2023 to you too and thank you for your kind words! I just loved hearing that and here's to your enjoyment of the channel continuing for a long, long time to come! 😁
@@ftloc Awesome ☺
its like you read my mind! I was also someone who hadn't ever heard of Thomas Ott until I watched your Most Memorable of 2022 videos where you mentioned it. The art struck me so much that I had immediately added it to my list and was left with a lingering feeling of what other Ott books you would recommend. And BOOM! Here is this lovely video doing just that! Thank you so much, it's really cool that you seem to always pay attention to what we say in the comments and respond to that. I'll definitely be trying to find more Thomas Ott. Here's to hoping there will be more reprints!
So wonderful to hear that; thank you! I too hope you can get your hands on more Ott, be they new reprints or used copies.
And yes, the comments and conversations around the videos are perhaps my absolute favourite thing about having this channel! So thank you for that too!
As I only knew a few Otter books I would welcome a reprint or a compilation of the out of print material. I quite shure that his dark tones, a characteristic of his style, wouldn’t be hurt by a matte paper as well. Keeping my fingers crossed
It was interesting to me that as I was editing this video, I liked the way the glossy paper looked on camera - the blacks seemed deeper and thicker, whereas the books on matte paper seemed to photograph slightly washed out. But in person, the more matteand even more yellowish paper seems to work magically. I will keep striving to learn more about camera stuff to try and reproduce that faithfully!
Great video! I've always been curious about Thomas Ott but was somewhat disappointed by "The Forest", which I read a month or so ago (I was expecting a bit horror than I got and ended up underwhelmed).
That said, knowing all of his work is silent makes his stuff much more accessible, as I've seen Spanish, German and Italian editions at reasonable prices, which will probably mean I'll give him another shot (or two!)
Yes, i can completely understand that, which is why I hesitate to use the term horror most times. I've found works like those of Ott or Charles Burns or others to sometimes not match what people expect.
I find probing into our fears, including those of being alone or lost or adrift after having lost someone, to be themes The Forest explores wonderfully in very few pages, which contributes to my evaluation of it as a great achievement in storytelling.
I also think Ott's embrace of pulp also works wonderfully, and in the caseof The Forest by subverting my own expectations of pulp that i had from him.
I'm sure you'll find something or the other of his you enjoy! Good luck with the hunt!
The only Ott I've gotten a hold of so far is The Forest...which was highly enjoyable...but because it was such a quick read, I wonder if that gives it a disadvantage in the US graphic novel market, where people seem more interested in deep reads ala Sandman than an art book that also tells a brief story...but this assumption is just based on The Forest alone.
I will have to keep an eye out for second hand copies...or have them shipped from overseas...
It seems that a "Library" edition from Fanta would make a lot of sense...
I had a whole ramble here about pricing and even a rant about per-page rates as a form of evaluating the worth of art, but I cut all that out as it was not only snide but also missing the point you make: certain realities about costs and choices have to factor in.
I also have a lot of opinions on single stories in single volumes and how that reading (and owning) experience differs from compilations and omnibuses, but again, this is why I prefer editing to livestreaming - I can just cut all that nonsense out.
Leaving aside considerations of formats, I really hope Fantagraphics (or any other publisher for that matter) makes reprints happen because right now a lot of people just find it hard to (legally) get their hands on much of Ott's work.
@@ftloc I would assume you’d say slimmer single volumes make for a better more focused read? And I imagine that’s frequently the case…but in terms of keeping these in print longer, and catching the attention of a somewhat broader audience, at least over here in the US, heftier volumes seem to be the way to go….
@@sleepyreader666 Oh yes, whatever my points are, they aren't practical but do occupy the same areas as mini comics, zines, but also pamphlets a booklets of other kinds, like how Howl was/is a single poem in a single form etc.
What i really like about digital is how those considerations can be mitigated somewhat. Something i see in games, film/tv, and more.
Basically i think libraries should buy all the books and keep them in print. And libraries should be everywhere. 😁
Great video! Thanks for introducing me to Thomas Ott
Glad you liked the video, and it thrills me to hear of new readers for the works of Ott!
Great video. Thanks for introducing me to Thomas Ott, will look out for the books. Each page looks like a painting.
Thank you! And I agree, it's breathtaking, but the most impressive thing is how these become more than individual pieces in creating a story. As I am biased towards narrative, I am always grateful when a book is not 'just' a collection of gorgeous pictures.
Loved The Forest and Cinema Panopticum. Need to get hold of the Number and RIP someday (maybe in a visit to Delhi)
This is where people say 'maybe on a visit to Bangalore'
To increase that temptation, there is now a street with 3 Blossoms
Also, maybe it's just me, but Ott's style reminded me of The Hunting Accident somehow, in the way both dragger the reader in deep.
Definitely! Although that is dots (and many dots!) they create a similar effect, perhaps as a reaction to how many times the implement touched the page for one image to be born.
Exactly, despite the enormous difference in the underlying technique, the depth (or maybe weight?) of the images seem to evoke emotions in a somewhat similar fashion.
I may just have to grab the French editions. Benefits of living in Canada
Among many! 😁
If you do, let me know what you thought!
No benefits of living in that country haha
Do you live tintin king ottokar's sceptre ?
Check all his Tintin episodes. He has a huge collection on his shelf.
And here I was already typing how evil man you are. First you inject a desire to get these books. Only to drop the bomb that they’re not really available. I was standing at my comic book shelf thinking if there was anyway to revenge. But your point about these being language neutral comics changed the game completely. It seems we have a lot of Ott here in Europe as long as you don’t filter searches by language. Hell, there was even a Louis Vuitton travel book by Ott!
Mind-boggling rarely fits better to any other technique.
Talk about revenge - I would love to get my hands on that Louis Vuitton book you mention but impossible here!
Glad you found copies - I'd love to know what you think of them when you get to try them out!
@@ftloc That book had Vuitton price tag too. 50 euro. No idea what the content is. But I’d rather start from some of the books you showed anyway.
@@analogcomics aas they all seem to be like that. Better than here though, most are not available, and the ones that are show up priced at over a hundred euros.
A great list of artists involved in those travel books though...
Great video ! Hoping to get my hands on Thomas Otts books . The art is incredible. Thank you for introducing me to his work .
Thank you! And I wish you luck and do let me know if you succeeded and what you thought of what you read!