In the Studio: Visits with Contemporary Cartoonists

by Todd Hignite

These studio visits with some of today’s most popular and innovative comic artists present an unparalleled look at the cutting edge of the comic medium. The artists, some of whom rarely grant interviews, offer insights into the creative process, their influences and personal sources of inspiration, and the history of comics. The interviews amount to private gallery tours, with the artists commenting, now thoughtfully, now passionately, on their own work as well as the works of others.
The book is generously illustrated with full-color reproductions of the artists’ works, including some that have been published and others not originally intended for publication, such as sketchbooks and personal projects. Additional illustrations show behind-the-scenes working processes of the cartoonists and particular works by others that have influenced or inspired them. Through the eyes of these artists, we see with a new clarity the achievement of contemporary cartoonists and the extraordinary possibilities of comic art.
Extensive interviews Ivan Brunetti, Charles Burns, Daniel Clowes, Robert Crumb, Jaime Hernandez, Gary Panter, Seth, Art Spiegelman, Chris Ware

Genres: Comics, Nonfiction, Art, Graphic Novels

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[David Weigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've twice been lucky enough to visit curated art museum exhibits on graphic novelists, justifying a lot the time I've spend reading this stuff. The best thing I can say about "In the Studio" is that reading it feels like a slow walk through a dream museum, with Hignite's tastes but not too much of his touch. The text mostly comes from the artists themselves, analyzing their own work (released and unreleased) and the pieces that inspired them to spend lives crouched over drafting tables. Read this expecting to give it away (I'd picked it up from a discount bin) and fell deep into it.

[Dominick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating collection. Rather than being conventional interviews, these pieces consist of commentaries by the artists themselves--Crumb, Spiegelman, Panter, Burns, Seth, Ware, Clowes, Brunetti, and Jaime Hernandez--on their work and influences, profusely illustrated with their art (finished, original, and in some cases everything down to the merest doodles) and with images of many of their key influences, so we learn about what has informed their work as well as about what they do. The book is interesting visually mainly for the insights it provides into process via the original art, sketches, mock-ups, doodles and so on included, stuff we don't usually get to see, very well reproduced and frequently in colour, though sometimes the size of the reproductions is a bit small (surprising in such an oversized book, but I guess limiting image size helped keep the page count down--and at over 300 pages, this is nevertheless a generously-sized book in all three of its dimensions). Seeing the images of what the artists themselves like and/or have been influenced by is very valuable here, especially when what we see is rare or unusual stuff (e.g. in the case of Seth, all the Doug Wright art--Wright has subsequently had a bunch of his stuff come back into print, largely thanks to Seth, but when this book came out, Wright was still languishing in obscurity). The artists' comments also often provide great insight into their processes, their self-conception, their main concerns, their aesthetic, and so on--some more than others, admittedly (the Charles Burns section, for instance, did not seem to me as revealing as most of the others). I enjoyed learning more about these cartoonists, even the figures about whom I knew little and in whose work I have little interest (e.g. Panter). I'm still not interested in Panter's work, but it was illuminating to get a direct sense of where he's coming from and how he conceives of his work. The book is marred somewhat by Hignite's . . . ornate? pretentious? (that seems harsh) florid? . . . writing style in the general introduction and the intros to the individual pieces, but fortunately these are all relatively short.

[Jeff Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worthwhile insights into process from luminaries like Jaime Hernandez, Gary Panter, Charles Burns, Chris Ware, Robert Crumb, and more. But the most illuminating sections feature these cartoonists talking about the far-flung work that's inspired them - old newspaper dailies, underground comix, weird superheroes, alternative manga, contemporary graphic novels, painters, book designers, toy makers, and much more.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some good interviews with the various artists, and I love seeing what influenced them. The most annoying part was the introductions for each guy. The author came off as pretentious. We get it dude you have a good vocabulary.

[Frederic · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have always enjoyed political and humourous cartoons and only recently started reading graphic novels, like Riad Sattouf's "The Arab of the Future" series, Art Spiegelman's "Maus" and Marjane Satrapi's "Persepolis". I also enjoyed the "Fluide Glaciale" series of bande desinée (BD) from France.

Having written prose and standup comedy but having only very limited experience with visual arts, I was interested to read about how visual artists work. There are common threads among the creative processes used in various art forms, whether written, drawn or musical. Inevitably, there's a lot of art/cartoonist shop talk here that mostly went over my head, but the book was quite informative.

The variety of sources that inspired these artists is huge. There is a reference to Will Elder's Wonder Woman spoof in Mad magazine, which I really enjoyed, decades ago.

I don't like Robert Crumb's work because I find his characters visually repulsive, which I know is sacrilegious because he is revered. Jaime Hernandez and Canada's Seth are two featured here whose work I quite enjoyed. This is a good entry point to the work of several cartoonists I would not otherwise have encountered.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Four of the many good things about this book:

1) Art Spiegelman talks about being inspired by the amazing Boris Artzybasheff (longtime TIME cover artist).

2) Chris Ware talks about the scary cartoon that hung in his grandfather's basement throughout CW's childhood.

3) Charles Burns talks about his father's hobby of clipping and collecting cartoon faces.

4) Daniel Clowes talks about being inspired by a weird self-published Christian comic called "Doctor Peculiar."

You get to see pictures of all this stuff, too -- the Artzybasheff, the Doctor Peculiar, Burns's father's book of clippings, and the drawing from Ware's grandfather's basement.

[Scott Radtke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book somewhat more than the 3 stars I gave it. I'm always intrigued by the thoughts behind the art but this book didn't go quite deep enough. Some of the artists included were not my favorites and were all of a generation with the exception of R. Crumb, and Art Spiegleman who've already generated a ton of information and whose best work is, frankly, behind them. As an artist myself, I also wanted to know how they artists create their work - what materials they use etc. - which was often entirely lacking.

[Zack! Empire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had this book for a number of years and I've continually looked back through it. It's a very well put together book. I think what I enjoyed about it the most is that it seems to go beyond just asking simple questions and has the artist showing you things that are important to them beyond comics, or even art in general. It's always amazing to see into the mind of someone you admire. This book has the feel of stepping inside someone's brain to see how their thoughts and experiences are organized.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb. Extensive, colorful interviews with the most creative comic writers/artists out there now, several from Chicago: Crumb, Seth, Clowes, Ware, Panter, Burns, Brunetti, Hernandez. See their favorite album covers, the films and comics that inspired them, who they swipe from. What struck me is how eloquent and keenly intelligent these artists are. This book is bursting with color and life. This is worth buying, not just checking out of the library.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book provides you, the fan, with the thrill of paging through your favorite comic artist's actual points of visual reference and influence... provided that favorite is one of the men listed. or Gary Panter, who just features his own sketches, past works, and a narration that makes me think that he was just mumbling to himself.

[Harry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting stuff in this book, although overall I didn't find it as insightful as I hoped. The introductions to the artists' work are a bit too scholarly, almost trying too hard to legitimize comics as an artform.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really lovely collection of anecdotes, influences, doodles and reproductions from some of the top dogs of underground comics. In their own words but obviously masterfully edited. A pleasure and inspiration to read.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somehow not as good or eye-opening as it could have been. I feel like the interviewer didn't ask quite the right questions or really dig or ... something. something's missing.

[Bill Hsu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the chapters on Crumb, Spiegelman, Panter, Hernandez, Burns, Clowes, not so much the rest. I don't get Brunetti's work at all, sorry.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was a book I had to read for a school assignment but I just loved it. I was so interesting and I really want to know more about Art Spiegelman, Robert Crumb and Gary Panter.