"George Sprott 1894-1975" by Seth

[helionaut]

This week I had 5 books on my pull list so I wasn't particularly looking for anything more to read but I couldn't avoid this beautiful new volume. I mean literally, it's oversized, about 14"x12", with blue and silver foil lettering on a cool grey cover. I haven't read a whole lot of Seth's work, but I loved Wimbledon Green, and once I gave up on collecting every issue of Palookaville, broke down and bought the Clyde Fans hardcover, which was very, very good if not as fun as WG. I guess I'm a fan of Seth now, since it wasn't even a thought not to buy this new volume, even at $25 (though I get a discount at the shop).

 

The book concerns the eponymous Sprott, a man of varied experience and disposition. Growing up during the last great age of exploration, he himself became an "adventurer" in the 30s, going to the far North of his native Canada (where most all of Seth's work seems situated). From these experiences, he forges a career as a lecturer and later as a TV talk-show host, where he seemingly endlessly recounts his travels with films, friends, and guests. The intrusive narrator seems genuinely fond of his subject, if not completely informed, and the distraction this causes isn't altogether pleasant, though once or twice is it poignant. The character of Sprott, even though it consumes almost every panel in the book, is never very fully realized, and that failure, which the narrator, and possibly Seth himself, is conscious of but never is able to correct. These points are a turn-off.

 

However, there are many good things going on. Seth once again creates a world that is incredibly nostalgic and at the same time very real, at least in my impression. I grew up in Philadelphia, and always felt like I'd be more at home in the North, with more perpetual winter and the spirit of adventure, like on the edge of a great wasteland (like, say, New Jersey) or the ocean. This feeling is activated totally by this book. Not in small part due to the oversized format, which is used to great effect. Even the double-splash dedication page, covered by a drawing of an iceberg, is evocative of memories I know I don't possess but wish I did. There are several full-page drawings that convey the great expanse of space in the Arctic. Also, like in his other works, Seth creates a very authentic feeling and rich but ultimately limited backstory for the title character and his milieu. Seth's "cartoony" art is still present, but as a style of human rendering it doesn't lose any effectiveness in conveying emotion or attitude, and his draftsmanship is still in fine form.

 

All in all, I can't really recommend this book unless you're a serious Seth fan, but then you probably already have it anyway. I will say that I hope he continues to use this book's format, but hopefully he'll have something a little weightier to go with it, or use it to more consistently impressive effect. There is a double-page fold-out that could've been something really amazing if the art printed there was meant for it. In other books where this has been done, like Mage, it's always served a purpose, but instead is merely 4 regular pages viewed consecutively, and as such is a mystery. I can see the point, but the point isn't a very salient one. Ultimately unsatisfying, this book lacks the scope and grandeur that the format hints at and only occasionally delivers.

[Norrin_Radd]

I am a Seth fan. I read George Sprott online when it was a strip in the NY Times. I plan on reading the whole book at some point. Very poignant stuff.

 

You can read them here...

 

http://www.nytimes.com/ref/magazine/funnypagesSprott.html?_r=1

[rjpb]

Thanks for the heads up - I will be looking for this. My regular LCS is run by a great guy and gives a healthy discount, but he doesn't carry much of this kind of stuff, though he will order it for me.

There are also a couple other shops I go to on a semi-regular places to find this sort of thing.