Seth (1) (1962–)

Seth needed 20 years to complete his longest work. Not that he spent all his time working on it - he published other things in the meantime but for 14 issues of his comic book Palookaville (which took the 20 years between 1998 and 2017), the main story in each issue was Clyde Fans.

The 5 parts of the story span 40 years although some of the flashbacks go even further in time - from the founding of the business by the father to its final collapse. The story opens at the end and then goes back show more to fill in the gaps - not linearly but jumping in time.

At the opening, it is 1997 (contemporary to when this part was written) and Abe Matchcard is an old man, living in what used to be the Clyde Fans building and telling the reader about the company his father founded (and then absconded from it and the family) and its history since that day. Once upon a time, it was a thriving business - Electric Fans were in vogue and sold well and "Clyde Fans" had the best products out there. Abe's brother, Simon, was supposed to take care of the business but for reasons which were not yet revealed, he ended up a recluse instead. So Abe stepped up, grew the business - and then watched it collapse when he ignored the rise of air conditioning.

For all intents and purposes, the book could have stopped here - we know the story now, right? But that's where the details come into play - the next 4 parts fill in the things that were just hinted at (or not even hinted at in some places) - from 1957 when we finally learn what happened to Simon (parts 2 and 5) through 1966 in part 3 where the business starts falling and the boys' mother needs to be put into a nursing home to 1975 in part 4 where Abe needs to admit defeat and close the factory. And in between all of that life are the musings of Abe (and Simon in his parts of the novel) about business and people and age. The circling back at the end, filling the last of the puzzle pieces in the very last pages of the novel works unexpectedly well - even though you know what must happen, seeing it happening is emotional.

What emerges is not just a history of a family and a business but the history of small businesses - what happens when new technology comes? What happens when the big stores and companies take over? Nothing good - unless you are willing to change and even if you used to be a risk-taker, remaining one, always being ready to change gets progressively harder. Business and family are weaved together inseparably - and despite the novel being about the business, it is also a family saga. And almost anyone can recognize parts of their own in it.

If you look at the first and last pages of the novel, you will see a change in the style - the art gets more confident as time passes, more mature. But you won't see that change as the novel progresses - it happens gradually, without abrupt changes. Not that the first pages are bad but there is a hesitancy there - more than in the later parts of the novel anyway.

Possibly because of its publication history and probably partly because it was moving so slow, the comics and graphic work awards never gave it even a nod. But the mainstream noticed it when it finally emerged completed - the Giller prize jury longlisted it in 2020 - the first (and only one so far I think) graphic novel to be even considered for the award - a novel is a novel, regardless of its form.

Even if you had never read a graphic novel before, try this one. A story is a story regardless of how you tell it and Seth knows how to tell a story. show less

This book was 20 years in the making and tells the story of Abe and Simon Matchcard, whose father established the Clyde Fans company. Clyde does a runner, and Abe and Simon are left to maintain the business—but in the age of air conditioning, fans are no longer as viable a proposition as they used to be. Abe is the more natural salesman, while Simon prefers to hide from the world and look after their mother.

This was an amazing book. The blues and blacks and beiges lend the story a show more particularly melancholy air. It’s not just the story of two brothers with a failing family business: it’s about progress and society leaving people behind; it’s about memory and looking after ageing parents; it’s even in a way about the decline of small-town Ontario, because the flashbacks to the 1950s show towns with train service that they wouldn’t have today. It chronicles a way of life that has disappeared and is being rapidly forgotten.

I recommend this to anyone who is skeptical of the graphic-novel format—it works fantastically well at telling this story. show less

4.5 stars

Wimbledon Green is a classic graphic novel by Seth, published in 2005. What a crazy story! I was totally wrapped up in it. The ending even had me getting misty-eyed.

It’s the story of “The Greatest Comic Book Collector in The World”. No one knows where he came from and after his adventures in the collecting world, no one knew where he went. He just disappeared. Most of the “tales” occur between around 1974 through about 1998. Between the longer stories, there are many show more different narrators, each using a page or two to talk directly to the reader about his opinions and recollections regarding Mr. Green and their fellow collectors. Seth’s use of vignettes and short stories put together to form a larger picture works well here.

Having formerly been one of the collecting world’s inhabitants, I can declare that the characters in Wimbledon Green do exist in the real world. Some are nice, some are sleazy, some are quiet, some are nosy, but mostly they just like what they’re doing and hope that you share their excitement for their chosen obsession.

Aside from the story itself, I loved the presentation of the book. The embossed green hardcover is printed with copper and black ink. Inside, the paper is of very good quality, with rounded corners which match the cover.

My favorite story is the one where the auto gyro crashes and Green loses his memory, and I really liked the characters speaking to the reader.

I’ve not read any other graphic novels by Seth, but he is a popular Canadian cartoonist. He did the artwork for Lemony Snicket’s Who Could That Be at This Hour?, a recent acquisition of mine. I fell in love with the art, not even knowing that Seth had done it!

This book is a treasure in its own right. Highly recommended! show less

From Palookaville, this story chronicles the search for more information about a little known cartoonist of the 40s and 50s. It's full of introspection, melancholy, love, and dedication. A casual encounter with a single comic strip becomes a mission to learn more. It's a beautifully slow-paced book where each panel brings depth. I'm not sure how he does it, but landscape and architecture become characters that frame and move the story along.