McCay

McCay #1-4

by Thierry Smolderen (Writer), Jean-Phillipe Bramanti (Illustrations), Edward Gauvin (Translator)

Get ready for a dizzying dive into the ‘McCay dimension’ with this equally true and false tribute to the undisputed master of the imagination!

McCay is an ‘invented’ biography, chronicling authentic – though only partially true – stories of the life of the future creator of Little Nemo, Winsor Mccay – in which McCay’s life is enriched by an imaginary encounter with British mathematician and science fiction writer Charles Hinton… and glimpses of the fourth dimension!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels

232 pages, Hardcover

Published November 20, 2018

About the author

Thierry Smolderen (born 25 November 1954) is an essay writer, as well as a script writer of Belgian comic strips.

Smolderen is a teacher at École des Beaux-Arts of Angoulême, France. As a comic books historian, he wrote Naissances de la bande dessinée (2009), about the "platinum age" of comics. This book has been published in English by the University Press of Mississippi in 2014, under the title The Origins of Comics: From William Hogarth to Winsor McCay (Eisner Award nominee of 2015 in the Best Scholarly/Academic Work category).

Reviews

[Aaron Ambrose · Rating 4 out of 5]

French writers seem to produce the best comic books. Of course there’s a selection bias at work, since only the most promising French books will get the investment to translate and publish in the US. Even then I’m sure nobody’s making much money on stuff like this - it’s too theoretical, loopy, and - what, French, I guess? Meaning far from slick and commercial. This is an invented biography of Winsor McCay, creator of Nemo in Slumberland, and some say the best cartoonist in history. I’m not beholden to McCay or Little Nemo, so I had an open mind stepping into the story. I loved it. Every panel was cool or baffling or haunting, with artwork that’s simultaneously realistic and trippy. You feel as if you’re looking at century-old photographs while goofy on cold medicine. There’s a wordless four-page sequence on a nighttime rollercoaster that I just kept flipping through back and forth, it’s so lovely and evocative. The plotty elements gain force at the last quarter, and the paranormal elements are put to the test. It works well enough, it wasn’t embarrassing. And now that the storyline is tucked away in my head, I’m sure I’ll enjoy this even more in the future in a more ambient way.

[Adam Stone · Rating 2 out of 5]

The cover on this book, and the final set of pages devoted to covers in the style of McCay are gorgeous, and I'm glad I've seen them. The actual narrtive chunk of the book was clunky, and a fairly dull way to look at one of the most creative visual artists of his time. The line work and colors were also very pedestrian for a collection on Windsory McCay. Either be era-true to his work or dazzle us with a modern interepretation. This book looked like a dreary early 90s Vertigo book. It made my sad that I hadn't purchased an actual Windsor McCay book

[Andrew Tatge · Rating 2 out of 5]

The dialog and pacing of actions and events feel uneven, part of this may be as a translated work. Some neat art helps compensate for the plotting, but don’t expect the ultra clean lines McCay was known for—is more if a noire pallet and execution. Clever in some ways, not not quite enough for me to recommend to others, though it is clearly a work of passion.

[Colin Oaten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating graphic memoir of the life of legendary comic strip artist Winsor McCay, creator of Little Nemo, interspersing the real details of his life with a fictional tale of murder and mystery in teh Fourth Dimension. Excellently written by Smolderen with beautifully muted artwork perfectly suited to the tale from Bramanti.