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George Sprott, 1894-1975
First serialized in The New York Times Magazine “Funny Pages”
The celebrated cartoonist and New Yorker illustrator Seth weaves the fictional tale of George Sprott, the host of a long-running television program. The events forming the patchwork of George’s life are pieced together from the tenuous memories of several informants, who often have contradictory impressions. His estranged daughter describes the man as an unforgivable lout, whereas his niece remembers him fondly. His former assistant recalls a trip to the Arctic during which George abandoned him for two months, while George himself remembers that trip as the time he began writing letters to a former love, from whom he never received replies.
96 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
13 people are currently reading
793 people want to read
About the author
Seth
155 books431 followersSeth, born Gregory Gallant in Clinton, Ontario, is a Canadian cartoonist celebrated for his distinctive visual style, deep sense of nostalgia, and influential contributions to contemporary comics. Known for the long-running series Palookaville and the widely acclaimed graphic novel It’s a Good Life, If You Don’t Weaken, he developed an aesthetic shaped by mid-20th-century magazine cartooning, particularly from The New Yorker, which he blends with themes rooted in Southern Ontario’s cultural memory. After studying at the Ontario College of Art and becoming part of Toronto’s punk-influenced creative scene, he adopted the pen name Seth and began gaining recognition through his work on Mister X. His friendships with fellow cartoonists Chester Brown and Joe Matt formed a notable circle within autobiographical comics of the early 1990s, where each depicted the others in their work. With Palookaville, published by Drawn & Quarterly, Seth refined his signature atmosphere of reflection, melancholy, and visual elegance. Beyond cartooning, he is an accomplished designer and illustrator, responsible for the celebrated book design of the ongoing complete Peanuts collection from Fantagraphics, as well as archival editions of Doug Wright and John Stanley. His graphic novels Clyde Fans, Wimbledon Green, and George Sprott explore memory, identity, and the passage of time through richly composed drawings and narrative restraint. Seth also constructs detailed cardboard architectural models of his imagined city, Dominion, which have been exhibited in major Canadian art institutions. He continues to live and work in Guelph, Ontario, noted for his influential role in shaping literary comics.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 97 reviews
December 28, 2019
I think the conception of this is awesome. Having just read Building Stories by his close friend and mentor Chris Ware, I see a conversation across texts. Both are works that look to explode story representation, in various ways. We have this large book format from Seth (as with Ware and his box of variously formatted books and magazines and posters in Building Stories), as he tries to capture a mundane (not an exciting or famous or "important" life [as Ware does with his three women in Building Stories]), just a "normal" person, whom we see is essentially forgotten even within the very industry (local Canadian tv nature show on the Arctic) he worked in for decades. Not a saint by any means, essentially boring and self centered as a person; so the challenge is: How do you represent such a life? (You might even ask why?!).
Seth also wrote a precursor to this book about Sprott, where Sprott figures in as a minor character, Wimbledon Green, a funny story about the quirky, self-involved world of comic book collectors. There Seth credits Ware with providing a model for representing a life in fragments, and while Wimbledon Green was funnier, this book is more ambitious, a life represented by multiple interview fragments from family and friends and colleagues, a page on the tv station's shows on the day he died, images of his various relationships with women, pictures of the vast snowy Arctic he apparently loved and made films traveling to over the years. We see his cold relationships with his mother, his wife and those various women, his one child fathered with an Inuit woman he never saw again.
Sprott is not a guy you "like" in the FB sense, but the challenge of making such a story is something Seth makes interesting, and the success of the enterprise depends on his signature nostalgia for the always fading past, for all that gets lost that collectors (and we have them speaking in this book) learn to value, the artifacts of a fleeting, always-already gone past.
Why read it? Gorgeous art, brilliantly drawn, great dialogue. Why? For an example of how to write a biography from fragments, not a smooth, seemingly seamless narrative as too many biographies are, a sort of hybrid work of a complex man. The image of the "lost child" haunts the story and is touching, in spite of the fact that we can't quite see how it touches the aloof Sprott. A forum on storytelling, how to tell a story, by a master. And very much of a piece with the over-all purpose of his work, to shine a light on every-day, small-town characters, a project including his 20-year project released this year, 2019, Clyde Fans, about a small town Ontario fan salesman.
Seth also wrote a precursor to this book about Sprott, where Sprott figures in as a minor character, Wimbledon Green, a funny story about the quirky, self-involved world of comic book collectors. There Seth credits Ware with providing a model for representing a life in fragments, and while Wimbledon Green was funnier, this book is more ambitious, a life represented by multiple interview fragments from family and friends and colleagues, a page on the tv station's shows on the day he died, images of his various relationships with women, pictures of the vast snowy Arctic he apparently loved and made films traveling to over the years. We see his cold relationships with his mother, his wife and those various women, his one child fathered with an Inuit woman he never saw again.
Sprott is not a guy you "like" in the FB sense, but the challenge of making such a story is something Seth makes interesting, and the success of the enterprise depends on his signature nostalgia for the always fading past, for all that gets lost that collectors (and we have them speaking in this book) learn to value, the artifacts of a fleeting, always-already gone past.
Why read it? Gorgeous art, brilliantly drawn, great dialogue. Why? For an example of how to write a biography from fragments, not a smooth, seemingly seamless narrative as too many biographies are, a sort of hybrid work of a complex man. The image of the "lost child" haunts the story and is touching, in spite of the fact that we can't quite see how it touches the aloof Sprott. A forum on storytelling, how to tell a story, by a master. And very much of a piece with the over-all purpose of his work, to shine a light on every-day, small-town characters, a project including his 20-year project released this year, 2019, Clyde Fans, about a small town Ontario fan salesman.
March 8, 2022
Porque, al final, ¿qué es una vida?: ¿los recuerdos que otros tienen sobre ti?¿los objetos que dejas atrás?¿tus aventuras?¿tus desventuras?¿lo último que piensas el día que mueres?¿lo que piensas cada mañana al despertarte? ¿tus remordimientos?...
Maravilloso. Soberbio. Nada que pueda decir va a hacerle justicia.
Compradlo, leedlo.
Maravilloso. Soberbio. Nada que pueda decir va a hacerle justicia.
Compradlo, leedlo.
June 30, 2009
This book is really pretty, and it smells very nice. Yeah, so sometimes I sniff the books that I read, yeah it's a little weird, but with this book you can't help missing the smell, it's just so goddamn big that the smell hits you, it's a good smell of ink and paper though (some books don't smell nice, and I'm not talking about stinky mildew infested used ones, but some new books just smell like shit). And because the book is so fucking big reading it made me feel like a little kid sitting and reading a picture book. Being slightly neurotic about damaging books while I read them, that made for some difficulty, but all and all I made it through reading this book without too many instances of having to check to make sure I wasn't hurting the spine, the wrap-around thing on the back cover, or getting the corners or pages messed up at all.
Contentwise I also enjoyed this book, it's a more likable book than It's a Good Life... and the design is a notch above his previous books, but this one didn't quite grab me the same way his misanthropic autobiographical writing did. Still it's got everything you would want from Seth, a fascination with the past, Canadian things, vaguely unlikable characters. I don't know what else to say. Did I mention it smells nice too?
Contentwise I also enjoyed this book, it's a more likable book than It's a Good Life... and the design is a notch above his previous books, but this one didn't quite grab me the same way his misanthropic autobiographical writing did. Still it's got everything you would want from Seth, a fascination with the past, Canadian things, vaguely unlikable characters. I don't know what else to say. Did I mention it smells nice too?
February 28, 2022
Obra de arte. Para mí, Seth es el único que juega en la misma liga que Chris Ware.
February 16, 2013
So obviously Seth's artwork is very charming, and that's the main appeal of the book. The large size gives him a lot of room to work with and the variety of tones and layouts he uses really pay off. Seth is unquestionably a great cartoonist. He is not much of a writer. The entire concept of the work, looking at an old man in the hours leading up to his death while jumping to different points in his life and seeing that he's made a lot of mistakes and is maybe not such a great guy after all, is very cliched and very done to death already. It just seems like an easy way to tug the reader's heartstrings and it's full of cheap and maudlin sentimentality (especially the ending and epilogue, which Seth seems to think are knockout blows, just seem incredibly obvious and trite). And the device of having a hesitant/unsure narrator who is constantly correcting himself is ok in theory, but the execution here screams creative writing 101 assignment. But sometimes he pulls it off. There are some segments that are genuinely moving and not cheap, and Seth's story telling makes it all seem a bit more interesting than it really is. And the whole thing is a treat to look at. Call it a low 3 stars.
I remember reading somewhere that Art Spiegelman said that the truest form of comics is to have one person do everything; the art and the writing. That's the thinking that leads to comics like these. Being a talented cartoonist in no ways qualifies you as a good writer. Sure, there are plenty of people that do both very well, but there are lots that can't. And so we're left with many quality cartoonists doing nicely drawn but poorly written comics about "serious subjects" that get praised to death by the underground comics crowd because these creators seems like they are justifying the art form with their "serious works". This is also the crowd that is quick to deride the mainstream comics system of having separate writers and separate artists (not to mention inkers, letterers, etc). But I'd certainly rather see the work of a talented writer paired with a talented artist than see another cartoonist with no conception of how to assemble a quality, artistic narrative cobble together another "masterpiece".
I remember reading somewhere that Art Spiegelman said that the truest form of comics is to have one person do everything; the art and the writing. That's the thinking that leads to comics like these. Being a talented cartoonist in no ways qualifies you as a good writer. Sure, there are plenty of people that do both very well, but there are lots that can't. And so we're left with many quality cartoonists doing nicely drawn but poorly written comics about "serious subjects" that get praised to death by the underground comics crowd because these creators seems like they are justifying the art form with their "serious works". This is also the crowd that is quick to deride the mainstream comics system of having separate writers and separate artists (not to mention inkers, letterers, etc). But I'd certainly rather see the work of a talented writer paired with a talented artist than see another cartoonist with no conception of how to assemble a quality, artistic narrative cobble together another "masterpiece".
June 19, 2021
Incredibly sweet and sad lil graphic novel!! All about a sort of curmudgeonly public access radio/TV host on the night of his death, flashing back and forth through his life to show glimpses of secret regrets and failings and private moments of joy, intercut with interviews about him. Gotta read more Seth!!
January 31, 2025
Nothing gold can stay repetido durante 96 páginas.
Esto puede considerarse bueno o malo en función de lo mucho o poco que le deprima a uno, por ejemplo, pasar todos los días por delante de un cine abandonado en el que, de adolescente, vio una película inolvidable.
Esto puede considerarse bueno o malo en función de lo mucho o poco que le deprima a uno, por ejemplo, pasar todos los días por delante de un cine abandonado en el que, de adolescente, vio una película inolvidable.
October 10, 2009
This book should be on the shelf (if you can find one high engough) of anyone who loves this art form. The opening two page spread - in my view one of the most remarkable in comics history- are the floating bodies and egg shaped heads of Sprott the old man about to die and Sprott the baby about to be born- united visually, as only comics can, through Seth's luscious curved drawing style. And this sets the tone for the book: an exploration of mortality, memory, loss, and guilt. That all sounds a bit pompous, but it really works and left me deeply moved. Seth is one of the best current comic artist/writers and this is by far his best work to date (especially welcome after the somewhat trite Wimbledon Green). The large book format is thrilling to hold and read (and a very reasonable price. You feel you can swim into this book, which is entirely appropriate to the double page wide arctic landscapes.
September 1, 2023
Kiedy przeglądam wywiady i filmy z Sethem, wierzyć mi się nie chce, że swego czasu jego wizerunek bliższy był Billy Idola niż postaci z filmów noir lat 40-tych, jaką przypomina dzisiaj. Jego prezencja i wypowiedzi są eleganckie i idealnie współgrają z twórczością komiksową – tak bardzo zapatrzoną w przeszłość, ciekawą świata, który minął bezpowrotnie i z którego szczątków autor próbuje wycisnąć ile się da.
„George Sprott” to tak jak „Życie nie jest takie złe, jeśli starcza ci sił”, „Clyde fans” czy „Wimbledon Green” fikcja w anturażu z minionych dekad. Bohater urodził się w końcówce XIX w., a lata jego świetności jako gwiazdy telewizyjnej przypadały na szóstą i siódmą dekadę wieku kolejnego. Seth hołduje przeszłości wraz z jej skalą, która wydaje się tak bardzo mała w stosunku do czasów dzisiejszych. To niesie konsekwencje. Skoro wszystkiego było mniej, prawie wszystko wydawało się wyjątkowe. Jedyna telewizja w kanadyjskim miasteczku to CKCK_TV, a jej podróżniczy program to „Northern Hi-Lights”, który prowadził nasz bohater. Nieme filmy dokumentalne z Arktyki kręcone w latach 30-tych były motorem jego telewizyjnej kariery. Po czasach świetności i popularności znany był głownie z zasypiania na wizji, przynudzania, powtarzalności i korzystania z tych samych patentów, a jednak do końca prowadził program dla małej grupki zagorzałych fanów. Summa summarum kończył jako dosyć żałosny relikt przeszłości - przedstawiciel innego i nieobecnego już świata.
Całość charakteryzuje typowa dla twórcy melancholia, sentymentalny ton i mnogość retrospekcji. Ubrane w skromną paletę kolorów plansze, swym monochromatyzmem czy odcieniami sepii podkreślają ten nostalgiczny charakter opowieści. Podobnie jak w „Wimbledon Green” obraz bohatera składa się przede wszystkim z relacji osób które go znały, ale też z fragmentów wywiadów i relacji narratora, który ciągle tłumaczy się ze swojej niewiedzy, przeprasza za braki informacyjne i nieustannie burzy czwartą ścianę miedzy nim a czytelnikiem. To ma znaczenie symboliczne, bo na świadomości braku pełnej wiedzy oparta na cała fabuła. Relacje bywają sprzeczne - wprawdzie mamy obraz mężczyzny wyrachowanego, wykorzystującego kobiety, zdradzającego żonę, ale jednocześnie kochanego wujka, miłego i przyjacielskiego dla służby hotelowej starszego pana. W jakimś sensie usprawiedliwiające dla George’a wydają się też traumatyczne zdarzenia z dzieciństwa - przede wszystkim chłód w relacji z matką.
Jednak to co najmocniej oddziałuje na czytelnika to niejednoznaczności i niedopowiedzenia. W wymownej scenie, w której Sprott dowiaduje się o śmierci ojca, tak naprawdę nie widać czy go ta informacja poruszyła. W kilku kadrach zderzamy się głównie ze skorupą, przez którą czytelnik nie jest w stanie się przebić. Również narrator często podkreśla, że nie wie co naprawdę myśli bohater. Seth jest mistrzem prezentacji prostych gestów w serii kadrów, które mają wręcz filmową siłę rażenia. Zwykłe zapalenie papierosa może urosnąć do rangi symbolu. Zresztą tych symboli jest tu więcej. Obserwujemy m.in. sny bohatera oraz przegląd ważnych momentów z życia tuż przed śmiercią zaprezentowany na rozkładówce w formie wciągającego strumienia świadomości.
Fantastyczne jest to poszukiwanie prawdy o drugim człowieku i świadomość braku możliwości dotarcia do niej. W „Wimbledon Green” ten cel potraktowano wręcz dosłownie i uczyniono myślą przewodnią całości, tu – w bardziej prawdopodobnej fabule – Seth niuansuje treść, ale sens jest taki sam: nie zgłębisz natury bohatera, który jest przedstawicielem odchodzącego świata, to nigdy nie będzie pełny wizerunek.
Fragmentaryczność i kompozycja „George’a Sprotta” zdeterminowane są faktem, że komiks powstawał na łamach „New York Timesa”. Ten system pracy jest zresztą zbieżny z tworzeniem innych większych fabuł, które artysta prowadził na łamach swoich cyklicznych zbiorów z serii „Palookaville”. Nie obce mu jest gęste kadrowanie w stylu Chrisa Ware, prosta, miękka, ale bardzo sugestywna kreska, w której liczy się każda linia tworząca grymas twarzy lub umiejscowienie kropek oczu jednoznacznie określających emocje. Na potrzeby komiksu Seth tworzy też całe makiety wymyślonego przez siebie miasteczka. Co kilka stron podziwiamy zdjęcia wykreowanych przez niego z kartonowych pudełek modeli budynków. Ta namacalność i możliwość prezentacji miejsc w formacie 3D nadaje im jeszcze pełniejszego wymiaru. Stare budynki wraz z ich kontekstem i historią to coś, co Kanadyjczyk niezmiennie traktuje z wielką estymą.
Seth nie ma dobrego zdania o dzisiejszym świecie i z tęsknoty oraz melancholii uczynił przedmiot swoich kapitalnych komiksów. To zapatrzenie w przeszłość mogłoby być nieznośnie, gdyby nie kapitalny warsztat. Melancholia w tym przypadku nie oznacza słodyczy, bohaterowie tych komiksów bywają wręcz odrażający, a mimo to niosą ze sobą cały kontekst świata, który przez swą mniejszą intensywność wydawał się dużo znośniejszy.
„George Sprott” to tak jak „Życie nie jest takie złe, jeśli starcza ci sił”, „Clyde fans” czy „Wimbledon Green” fikcja w anturażu z minionych dekad. Bohater urodził się w końcówce XIX w., a lata jego świetności jako gwiazdy telewizyjnej przypadały na szóstą i siódmą dekadę wieku kolejnego. Seth hołduje przeszłości wraz z jej skalą, która wydaje się tak bardzo mała w stosunku do czasów dzisiejszych. To niesie konsekwencje. Skoro wszystkiego było mniej, prawie wszystko wydawało się wyjątkowe. Jedyna telewizja w kanadyjskim miasteczku to CKCK_TV, a jej podróżniczy program to „Northern Hi-Lights”, który prowadził nasz bohater. Nieme filmy dokumentalne z Arktyki kręcone w latach 30-tych były motorem jego telewizyjnej kariery. Po czasach świetności i popularności znany był głownie z zasypiania na wizji, przynudzania, powtarzalności i korzystania z tych samych patentów, a jednak do końca prowadził program dla małej grupki zagorzałych fanów. Summa summarum kończył jako dosyć żałosny relikt przeszłości - przedstawiciel innego i nieobecnego już świata.
Całość charakteryzuje typowa dla twórcy melancholia, sentymentalny ton i mnogość retrospekcji. Ubrane w skromną paletę kolorów plansze, swym monochromatyzmem czy odcieniami sepii podkreślają ten nostalgiczny charakter opowieści. Podobnie jak w „Wimbledon Green” obraz bohatera składa się przede wszystkim z relacji osób które go znały, ale też z fragmentów wywiadów i relacji narratora, który ciągle tłumaczy się ze swojej niewiedzy, przeprasza za braki informacyjne i nieustannie burzy czwartą ścianę miedzy nim a czytelnikiem. To ma znaczenie symboliczne, bo na świadomości braku pełnej wiedzy oparta na cała fabuła. Relacje bywają sprzeczne - wprawdzie mamy obraz mężczyzny wyrachowanego, wykorzystującego kobiety, zdradzającego żonę, ale jednocześnie kochanego wujka, miłego i przyjacielskiego dla służby hotelowej starszego pana. W jakimś sensie usprawiedliwiające dla George’a wydają się też traumatyczne zdarzenia z dzieciństwa - przede wszystkim chłód w relacji z matką.
Jednak to co najmocniej oddziałuje na czytelnika to niejednoznaczności i niedopowiedzenia. W wymownej scenie, w której Sprott dowiaduje się o śmierci ojca, tak naprawdę nie widać czy go ta informacja poruszyła. W kilku kadrach zderzamy się głównie ze skorupą, przez którą czytelnik nie jest w stanie się przebić. Również narrator często podkreśla, że nie wie co naprawdę myśli bohater. Seth jest mistrzem prezentacji prostych gestów w serii kadrów, które mają wręcz filmową siłę rażenia. Zwykłe zapalenie papierosa może urosnąć do rangi symbolu. Zresztą tych symboli jest tu więcej. Obserwujemy m.in. sny bohatera oraz przegląd ważnych momentów z życia tuż przed śmiercią zaprezentowany na rozkładówce w formie wciągającego strumienia świadomości.
Fantastyczne jest to poszukiwanie prawdy o drugim człowieku i świadomość braku możliwości dotarcia do niej. W „Wimbledon Green” ten cel potraktowano wręcz dosłownie i uczyniono myślą przewodnią całości, tu – w bardziej prawdopodobnej fabule – Seth niuansuje treść, ale sens jest taki sam: nie zgłębisz natury bohatera, który jest przedstawicielem odchodzącego świata, to nigdy nie będzie pełny wizerunek.
Fragmentaryczność i kompozycja „George’a Sprotta” zdeterminowane są faktem, że komiks powstawał na łamach „New York Timesa”. Ten system pracy jest zresztą zbieżny z tworzeniem innych większych fabuł, które artysta prowadził na łamach swoich cyklicznych zbiorów z serii „Palookaville”. Nie obce mu jest gęste kadrowanie w stylu Chrisa Ware, prosta, miękka, ale bardzo sugestywna kreska, w której liczy się każda linia tworząca grymas twarzy lub umiejscowienie kropek oczu jednoznacznie określających emocje. Na potrzeby komiksu Seth tworzy też całe makiety wymyślonego przez siebie miasteczka. Co kilka stron podziwiamy zdjęcia wykreowanych przez niego z kartonowych pudełek modeli budynków. Ta namacalność i możliwość prezentacji miejsc w formacie 3D nadaje im jeszcze pełniejszego wymiaru. Stare budynki wraz z ich kontekstem i historią to coś, co Kanadyjczyk niezmiennie traktuje z wielką estymą.
Seth nie ma dobrego zdania o dzisiejszym świecie i z tęsknoty oraz melancholii uczynił przedmiot swoich kapitalnych komiksów. To zapatrzenie w przeszłość mogłoby być nieznośnie, gdyby nie kapitalny warsztat. Melancholia w tym przypadku nie oznacza słodyczy, bohaterowie tych komiksów bywają wręcz odrażający, a mimo to niosą ze sobą cały kontekst świata, który przez swą mniejszą intensywność wydawał się dużo znośniejszy.
June 20, 2012
If I was to provide a succint description vis a vis an analogy to a piece of pop culture to describe this absolutely fantastic work- I would most certainly declare Seth's George Sprott to be the Citzen Kane of graphic novels. Nope, I'm not mincing my words. Not at all. While Orson Well's Kane represents the rise and fall of not soley the eponymous character himself- but more grandiosly- the rise and fall of the very American Dream itself- George Sprott aims somewhat lower (He's Canadian you know. Haha!) but, no doubt, his narrative is any less profound of a study of character- capturing what it means to be human- which in this case (A case we don't talk about in open but a very tangible one that haunts the main character and us every night when we are alone with those very frightening thoughts of personal failures) is to be completely broken.
George Sprott is not just a Citizen Kane (Though the similarities are particularly striking- of a much smaller scale of course). He's much more than that. Take 1/4 a cup of Camus' Mersault from The Stranger, another 1/4 cup of Willy Lowman from Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, a 1/4 cup of Orson Well's Charles Foster Kane, and a 1/4 cup of Everyman Syrup, with a splash of Byronic Hero Sugar- and bake it over the course of 80 years of truly mediocre life, and you'd get something pretty doggone close to the character of George Sprott. He's absolutely despicable, unlikable, and downright nasty- yet we can't turn away- and thus can't help but see our own flaws upon his story through his eyes- and the eyes of his peers. This is Seth's greatest asset and it is absolutely astounding how frightening his ability to manipulate our emotions through this contemptable character.
It's pretty incredible how Seth has been able to create such an incredibly human character that is just so believeable in a mere 96 pages. Similar in scope and versimilutide to Manu Larecents' equally breathtaking Ordinary Victories- (Vol. 1 and 2; If you haven't read either of them DO IT NOW) Seth also focuses on those deep inner failures, struggles, neuroses, and suffocating existential angst and anxiety that plague all self aware sentients- most painfully ourselves- in this frighteningly groundless existential condition. However, while Larecent's story focuses on the youthful conundrums and difficulties of early adulthood- Seth inquires upon a differnt kind of existential angst- one that looks backwards from the mind of an older man- who is all to painfully aware of his failures as he slowly makes his way to an inevitable end that has been on the decline for way to long- making the process even more bitter and corrosive than a presumably preferred abrupt ending would have been. In reading betwixt the lines- maybe there is some wisdom in joining that 27 year old club Seth wants us to ponder. If nothing else, the Jim Morrison's of this world will never have to look back upon their failures- their stars burned too brightly for that- Sprott didn't quite burn so hard and will suffer the agonizing and drawn out decline it effervescently entails.
Like Well's Kane who follows a preciptious ascent of the mountain to to success from a humble and disastrous homelife, Sprott too falls- toward an equally preciptious fall from grace- aggravated and amplified by a snowballing of neuroses and personal failures- leading to that ignominious end anyone in power inevitably fears. While lacking a Declaration of Principles, an abusive household, or a metoric political and financial rise to power- within its context- George Sprott and his life story is just as poignant and difficult to stomach, his failures, his omissions, and continual self-delusion ("I'm a good person, I know I am- we've all told ourselves throughout our lives to make us feel better about these failures) is just as helter-skelter. While I'm not sure if Sprott has blisters on his fingers (If you didn't get that joke you should boil your head. Phillistine) his psyche certainly has plenty- from a a household that was not meant to last- a failed future in the Seminary- to an Inuit bastard child- and an adulterous life- we see him live his life just like the rest of us: appearing with a normal and collected fascade- contrasted with a tormented and twisted movie reel of failures- constantly playing in our collective unconsciousness. Plaguing him with those painful unescapable questions: what was- what should have been- what I could have been. Think a bad acid trip with Dicken's Ghost of Christmas Future guiding you along your past- except that there is no Ghost- only your subconcious leading you along constantly reliving your failures- and the trip doesn't end with a ghost leaving- . Nope, this trip is undending. As long as Sprott's nasty life continues- only death can provide a rest from this rustling.
However- it's not just that inescapable mental cinema reel that paints the wretched picture of this tormented character but, the descriptions provided by interviews of his peers (another clear allusion and a tip of the hat to the preliminary character sketches of Charles Foster Kane. As we all too often find out in life- its not so much important how we view ourselves but, how others view us in the social matricies we inevitably inhabit. We see people bitterly criticizing him at worst, occasionally idealize him naively beeming with pride of his jovial visage at best, but usually his character portraits combine a bit mild amount of praise for his stupid aphorisms and dewey-eyed demeanor while derisively enjoying the everyday schadenfreude at his all to public failures (in his case falling asleep on the teleprompter whilst on the air). Co-workers, a niece, a bastard child, and many others all have a wide pallet of experiences and interpretations with which to paint the character of George Sprott- various hues of the brightest and darkest colours all over such an otherwise unremarkable life. Along with the colours of his personal pallet- an incredibly detailed and complex picture of the anti-hero (He sure as hell isn't a protagonist) is painted in less than 100 pages. These tints, and tones, and hues, are important- just as important as the ones you will most definitely choose to makes sense of George Sprott and his remarkably unremarkable life; a life that you will love and despise all the same because there is all a little bit of Sprott in all of us.
2 Big thumbs up. Highly Recomended.
George Sprott is not just a Citizen Kane (Though the similarities are particularly striking- of a much smaller scale of course). He's much more than that. Take 1/4 a cup of Camus' Mersault from The Stranger, another 1/4 cup of Willy Lowman from Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, a 1/4 cup of Orson Well's Charles Foster Kane, and a 1/4 cup of Everyman Syrup, with a splash of Byronic Hero Sugar- and bake it over the course of 80 years of truly mediocre life, and you'd get something pretty doggone close to the character of George Sprott. He's absolutely despicable, unlikable, and downright nasty- yet we can't turn away- and thus can't help but see our own flaws upon his story through his eyes- and the eyes of his peers. This is Seth's greatest asset and it is absolutely astounding how frightening his ability to manipulate our emotions through this contemptable character.
It's pretty incredible how Seth has been able to create such an incredibly human character that is just so believeable in a mere 96 pages. Similar in scope and versimilutide to Manu Larecents' equally breathtaking Ordinary Victories- (Vol. 1 and 2; If you haven't read either of them DO IT NOW) Seth also focuses on those deep inner failures, struggles, neuroses, and suffocating existential angst and anxiety that plague all self aware sentients- most painfully ourselves- in this frighteningly groundless existential condition. However, while Larecent's story focuses on the youthful conundrums and difficulties of early adulthood- Seth inquires upon a differnt kind of existential angst- one that looks backwards from the mind of an older man- who is all to painfully aware of his failures as he slowly makes his way to an inevitable end that has been on the decline for way to long- making the process even more bitter and corrosive than a presumably preferred abrupt ending would have been. In reading betwixt the lines- maybe there is some wisdom in joining that 27 year old club Seth wants us to ponder. If nothing else, the Jim Morrison's of this world will never have to look back upon their failures- their stars burned too brightly for that- Sprott didn't quite burn so hard and will suffer the agonizing and drawn out decline it effervescently entails.
Like Well's Kane who follows a preciptious ascent of the mountain to to success from a humble and disastrous homelife, Sprott too falls- toward an equally preciptious fall from grace- aggravated and amplified by a snowballing of neuroses and personal failures- leading to that ignominious end anyone in power inevitably fears. While lacking a Declaration of Principles, an abusive household, or a metoric political and financial rise to power- within its context- George Sprott and his life story is just as poignant and difficult to stomach, his failures, his omissions, and continual self-delusion ("I'm a good person, I know I am- we've all told ourselves throughout our lives to make us feel better about these failures) is just as helter-skelter. While I'm not sure if Sprott has blisters on his fingers (If you didn't get that joke you should boil your head. Phillistine) his psyche certainly has plenty- from a a household that was not meant to last- a failed future in the Seminary- to an Inuit bastard child- and an adulterous life- we see him live his life just like the rest of us: appearing with a normal and collected fascade- contrasted with a tormented and twisted movie reel of failures- constantly playing in our collective unconsciousness. Plaguing him with those painful unescapable questions: what was- what should have been- what I could have been. Think a bad acid trip with Dicken's Ghost of Christmas Future guiding you along your past- except that there is no Ghost- only your subconcious leading you along constantly reliving your failures- and the trip doesn't end with a ghost leaving- . Nope, this trip is undending. As long as Sprott's nasty life continues- only death can provide a rest from this rustling.
However- it's not just that inescapable mental cinema reel that paints the wretched picture of this tormented character but, the descriptions provided by interviews of his peers (another clear allusion and a tip of the hat to the preliminary character sketches of Charles Foster Kane. As we all too often find out in life- its not so much important how we view ourselves but, how others view us in the social matricies we inevitably inhabit. We see people bitterly criticizing him at worst, occasionally idealize him naively beeming with pride of his jovial visage at best, but usually his character portraits combine a bit mild amount of praise for his stupid aphorisms and dewey-eyed demeanor while derisively enjoying the everyday schadenfreude at his all to public failures (in his case falling asleep on the teleprompter whilst on the air). Co-workers, a niece, a bastard child, and many others all have a wide pallet of experiences and interpretations with which to paint the character of George Sprott- various hues of the brightest and darkest colours all over such an otherwise unremarkable life. Along with the colours of his personal pallet- an incredibly detailed and complex picture of the anti-hero (He sure as hell isn't a protagonist) is painted in less than 100 pages. These tints, and tones, and hues, are important- just as important as the ones you will most definitely choose to makes sense of George Sprott and his remarkably unremarkable life; a life that you will love and despise all the same because there is all a little bit of Sprott in all of us.
2 Big thumbs up. Highly Recomended.
September 25, 2025
Habla del paso del tiempo, del presente y de lo que dejamos atrás, de los errores que cometemos y de la muerte. Sin tapujos.
August 1, 2019
Fictional biography of a non-remarkable man with his share of flaws. That is, he is much like the rest of us. Reminds me of 'Clyde Fans' in that respect. HUGE format book, awkward to curl up with, must've been expensive to produce, and perhaps difficult to "market" (i.e., not easy to display or store "efficiently" on shelves.) But it's so unique, so cool, this huge yet skinny book, and it allows for entire chapters to be presented on a single page. Amusingly, the narrator breaks the fourth wall, proclaiming himself/herself/itself omniscient but admits to being anything but. Even God isn't privy to all of George Sprott's secrets. Most of the scenes are told not by the "omniscient" narrator, but instead through the POVs of co-workers, relatives, and others. I liked this book quite a bit. Seth is a pretty interesting artist and story teller.
August 7, 2019
The long life of a forgotten television star of the mid-20th century. Presented in vignettes of George Sprott's life interspersed with interviews of people with some connection with Sprott and a telling of the last day of his life. An inventive (and huge format) graphic novel that lets Seth have some fun.
June 16, 2025
Very much akin to Wimbledon Green in its pseudo-documentary format. This might be the most concise and carefully packaged encapsulation of Seth's ideas and preoccupations: nostalgic reminisces of a Canada now gone, disapproval of a world that prioritizes convenience and profits, and artistry that is doomed to be forgotten, but is still valuable in its own way, even if it is a bit shit.
I like that Seth believes so strongly there is something valuable to be found in almost all pieces of art, even if they are not even the sum of their parts. I think that it's a healthy way to look at art and increases a person's overall appreciation of the work.
This book did feel somewhat more bleak than others--its stock is pretty much entirely in the past, without a future or even much present. His niece's future is not much considered outside of being more empty for George's absence, George's unacknowledged daughter is moved on from without much of a second thought, and the tapes of all his shows are destroyed by the studio, ruling out even a Kalo-esque revival (even for an audience of one). Seth took on the question of legacy and unequivocally asserts that there will be none. The extent to which George deserves a legacy is questionable in the text: he seems to spend decades rehashing the same arctic films from his youth which, even if copies were saved, would be unlikely to be viewed favorably by modern Canadians. The extent of the remembrances of George Sprott come from one elderly woman who buys and hordes his lecture notes and a solitary collector who is only interested in him as far as he is connected to the CKCK television station. With Kalo, at least we are offered insight into his fulfilling family life. With the GNBCC, at least there are hints of a revival in the form. George Sprott had his day and is no more. Tough.
I like that Seth believes so strongly there is something valuable to be found in almost all pieces of art, even if they are not even the sum of their parts. I think that it's a healthy way to look at art and increases a person's overall appreciation of the work.
This book did feel somewhat more bleak than others--its stock is pretty much entirely in the past, without a future or even much present. His niece's future is not much considered outside of being more empty for George's absence, George's unacknowledged daughter is moved on from without much of a second thought, and the tapes of all his shows are destroyed by the studio, ruling out even a Kalo-esque revival (even for an audience of one). Seth took on the question of legacy and unequivocally asserts that there will be none. The extent to which George deserves a legacy is questionable in the text: he seems to spend decades rehashing the same arctic films from his youth which, even if copies were saved, would be unlikely to be viewed favorably by modern Canadians. The extent of the remembrances of George Sprott come from one elderly woman who buys and hordes his lecture notes and a solitary collector who is only interested in him as far as he is connected to the CKCK television station. With Kalo, at least we are offered insight into his fulfilling family life. With the GNBCC, at least there are hints of a revival in the form. George Sprott had his day and is no more. Tough.
January 21, 2023
Beautiful graphic novel, such a work of art.
The story of a man named George Sprott told by a narrator who tried his best to do a good job and a bunch of interviews with close friends and family.
He was selfish, arrogant and an expert gaslighter in the body of a seemingly sweet old man.
Caught me by surprise reading it and seeing all my male family members resemble George Sprott.
The story of a man named George Sprott told by a narrator who tried his best to do a good job and a bunch of interviews with close friends and family.
He was selfish, arrogant and an expert gaslighter in the body of a seemingly sweet old man.
Caught me by surprise reading it and seeing all my male family members resemble George Sprott.
September 20, 2011
Man alive, I love Seth but what was this?! "It's A Good Life If You Won't Weaken" was brilliant as was "Clyde Fans", while "Wimbledon Green" was a small masterwork. In fact it's from "Wimbledon Green" that he bases most of his new book "George Sprott" on (there's even one panel which I'm sure was in the endpapers of "Wimbledon Green" reproduced here). It's a similar fictional biography told in part by the subject, part by an omniscient narrator and part by people who knew him.
Here's the story of George Sprott. His parents argued when he was little. He attended seminary but dropped out to go to the arctic. While there he impregnated some eskimos and never got in touch with his bastard kids. He then had a successful radio then TV career talking to nobodies about his arctic trips. He had numerous affairs during his life and never had a fulfilling relationship with anyone. He dies.
It really is such a dull story about such an ordinary man. There's nothing here to grip the reader. It just feels like you're being talked to by an old biddy. "Oh the past was so much better". Oh come on, change the record Seth! Is this really all you have to say?
The utterly boring life story of George Sprott is padded out, sorry, interspersed with two page drawings of ice bergs and photographs of buildings made out of cardboard then are followed by a full page talking about that building. It's the same for each building. It was a grand place one, in it's heyday in the 30s or 40s then in the 90s it was demolished and blah blah blah.
I was so bored by this I was counting the pages til the end and there aren't that many pages. It just drags interminably onwards through Sprott's uneventful life. I didn't like him at all as a character, he just struck me as a complete tw*t and couldn't believe Seth thought he was interesting enough to base an entire book on!
And what a book! It's a massive hardback, about the size of a road atlas. The design is beautiful as always and the drawings are up to a remarkably high standard. It's just such a shame Seth decided to waste his talent on this drab and dreary character. I'd direct new readers to Seth to "Wimbledon Green" for a masterful book. Ignore this one and hope Seth ups his game for the next book.
Here's the story of George Sprott. His parents argued when he was little. He attended seminary but dropped out to go to the arctic. While there he impregnated some eskimos and never got in touch with his bastard kids. He then had a successful radio then TV career talking to nobodies about his arctic trips. He had numerous affairs during his life and never had a fulfilling relationship with anyone. He dies.
It really is such a dull story about such an ordinary man. There's nothing here to grip the reader. It just feels like you're being talked to by an old biddy. "Oh the past was so much better". Oh come on, change the record Seth! Is this really all you have to say?
The utterly boring life story of George Sprott is padded out, sorry, interspersed with two page drawings of ice bergs and photographs of buildings made out of cardboard then are followed by a full page talking about that building. It's the same for each building. It was a grand place one, in it's heyday in the 30s or 40s then in the 90s it was demolished and blah blah blah.
I was so bored by this I was counting the pages til the end and there aren't that many pages. It just drags interminably onwards through Sprott's uneventful life. I didn't like him at all as a character, he just struck me as a complete tw*t and couldn't believe Seth thought he was interesting enough to base an entire book on!
And what a book! It's a massive hardback, about the size of a road atlas. The design is beautiful as always and the drawings are up to a remarkably high standard. It's just such a shame Seth decided to waste his talent on this drab and dreary character. I'd direct new readers to Seth to "Wimbledon Green" for a masterful book. Ignore this one and hope Seth ups his game for the next book.
September 5, 2015
The book is oversized, and the story is reflective of Seth's other work, but oversized as well, on a larger scale and more explicitly delineating the themes that run through everything he does. This originally ran as a weekly comic in the New York Times Magazine, and each page can be read separately, but they form into a longer story. Interspersed are photos of the intricate cardboard constructions he made of the buildings that appear in the story. Filled with nostalgia, loneliness, shades of grey, melancholy, and a longing for a time before there was such a homogenous national culture, when local places had character and regional stuff - restaurants, local tv personalities - wasn't the same everywhere. Strongly reminds me of Chris Ware.
September 29, 2016
Presented very much like Wimbledon Green. Lots of anecdotes and memories from different perspectives. I particularly enjoyed the fascination with the last three hours of George's life. Such mundane events seem meaningful only by retroactively analyzing them, and it's this morbid curiosity that we as humans naturally seem to have maybe because death is such an abstract part of life. I would have liked to see more of his first love Olive Mott's impact on George's life, and I would have liked to see more of his womanizing ways to solidify his character (since we only truly know him as an 81 year old fat man). Otherwise, it's a really solid Seth narrative. And the art is maybe the best I've seen of his.
September 13, 2015
I wanted to reread this in the midst of my email-based interview with Seth. He had mentioned that this was his favorite work -- I wasn't aware of this until he told me -- so I felt compelled to become familiar with it once again, so as to ask him more pointed questions about it. I do find George Sprott one of Seth's most moving stories. It had a big impact on me when I first read upon its release in 2009. Seth truly has to be one of THE most important creators today, at least for me.
August 8, 2016
An interesting book that is like a "This Was Your Life" documentary. Some of the drawings are just staggeringly awesome, especially the collection of George's early life and how it was laid out. But sometimes the narrative becomes too elliptical and dreamlike (especially in the gatefold) with the slightly smug narrator and this takes away from the overall book. Plus the pervading sense of the inevitability of death and how temporary and fleeting our time is is more than a little depressing.
May 14, 2016
I consider this book one of the best graphic novels I have read. It is beautifully written and drawn by "Seth", and the depth that it has exploring the life and death of a fictional Arctic explorer and an on-air Canadian tv personality is amazing. I loved it.
October 29, 2009
Mawkish sentimentality expertly drawn.
May 28, 2017
As a person who really responds to narrative and structure, the way that Seth gives us the story of his protagonist, George Sprott, is the big seller here. Told through multiple perspectives, bouncing back and forth in time, and taking advantage of Seth's deceptively simple drawing style and the large format of the book, this narrative comes at its topic at an angle, but ends up capturing the man perfectly. Sprott was an at-loose-ends editor of a boys magazine turned gentleman arctic explorer, who rolled those experiences into a long career as a TV personality and lecturer. We learn about his childhood, the end of his life, those who loved him, those who hated him, and those who merely overlapped with him a bit. He wasn't a particularly good man, but by the end of this detailed graphic portrait, he becomes a very real one.
May 2, 2020
This is my second read of George Sprott the first being back when it came out in 2009. Hard to believe so much time has passed. Seth i# one of my favorite cartoonists and he has made a wonderful book here. First off it’s physically big. 12 x14 inches. It’s nice see such a big comic.
George Sprott is the name of our lead character ant this book is the story of his life. He was a local celebrity in Canada. He went on arctic expirations, ran magazines, gave lectures, and had a local TV talk show for 25 years.
Seth’s work usually deals with nostalgia and this book is dripping with it. It’s all about asking where time goes and what will become of our lives after we’re gone. We ask ourselves those questions as we’re presented with George’s life.
In the end I was nostalgic for a time and place I never even knew existed. It was a good read.
George Sprott is the name of our lead character ant this book is the story of his life. He was a local celebrity in Canada. He went on arctic expirations, ran magazines, gave lectures, and had a local TV talk show for 25 years.
Seth’s work usually deals with nostalgia and this book is dripping with it. It’s all about asking where time goes and what will become of our lives after we’re gone. We ask ourselves those questions as we’re presented with George’s life.
In the end I was nostalgic for a time and place I never even knew existed. It was a good read.
October 3, 2022
No le veo la hondura de Ventiladores Clyde (quizá más imperfecta en lo formal, pero con un guión más sustancioso). Vendría a ser un pórtico de entrada perfecto a la obra de Seth, un autor que recuerda a Chris Ware en su tratamiento en extremo melancólico de la realidad humana, si bien es cierto que Ware acostumbra a resultar más encarnizado, mientras que Seth sostiene una elegancia que suaviza de alguna manera el dolor y la miseria existencial al tiempo que realza la nostalgia, la impermanencia y la levedad del ser sin tirar de brutalidad explícita.
Una delicia de composición y de estilo.
Una delicia de composición y de estilo.
December 27, 2023
I once visited an art gallery in Guelph where an entire town was constructed of cardboard and the artist was a well-known local, Seth. That's what gave me the most pleasure while reading his graphic novel - seeing the cardboard models on the page and catching the tail of a memory that I didn't know was still there. It's an apt reflection for a story about time itself, and the positioning on a person within it.
George is an opaque character that could be a philandering opportunist, or a beloved relic (most likely, he is both). The strength of the cartoons is the non-linear way it can provoke a feeling or a memory - in jumbled bursts.
George is an opaque character that could be a philandering opportunist, or a beloved relic (most likely, he is both). The strength of the cartoons is the non-linear way it can provoke a feeling or a memory - in jumbled bursts.
January 10, 2021
A mountain of comics excellence. The page designs in this book alone are a masterwork of comics formalism. I think this is Seth’s best in terms of cartooning (you can argue Clyde Fans but I don’t think it has a moment as good as the fold outs).
The story jumps around George Sprott’s life from childhood to death and paints such a vivid picture of him as a person. By the time you’re half way through the book you really understand who George is as a person and that’s an incredible feat.
Really loved this.
The story jumps around George Sprott’s life from childhood to death and paints such a vivid picture of him as a person. By the time you’re half way through the book you really understand who George is as a person and that’s an incredible feat.
Really loved this.
March 2, 2024
A Seth GN I had never read before, with a big focus on one-page chapters (since the original story was serialized in the New York Times Magazine). There's the usual focus on regret, loneliness, and nostalgia for earlier Canadian decades, along with the eponymous protagonist who is extremely flawed. (There appears to be plenty for him to regret.) At the same time, there's some fascinating emphasis on transcendance (captured in a six-page fold-out section of the book) and a wonderfully confusing omniscient narrator. Nothing I need to own, but I'm very glad I read it.
October 17, 2019
I like Seth so I liked this book but it's very typical of his work. A fictitious biography of a fictitious individual living in a fictitious city. Hearkens back to the past and a simpler, more elegant world as much of Seth's work does. It's good, but I don't think I've enjoyed any of his books as much as It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken which makes a deeper connection than the majority of his work.
December 28, 2024
A fascinating book by the brilliant Canadian cartoonist Seth. Some of the "strips" first appeared in the NYTimes magazine, and Seth has fleshed that out with new material to create this fascinating graphic novel about a protagonist, who is in essence, not fascinating at all.
Make sure you get the hardcover; The softcover. is reduced in dimensions, and compresses the art too much and makes some of the dialogue very difficult to read
Make sure you get the hardcover; The softcover. is reduced in dimensions, and compresses the art too much and makes some of the dialogue very difficult to read
Displaying 1 - 30 of 97 reviews