In driesdewulf 's collection
Description
Chapter 5
First published in Zero Zero issue 6 (Nov-Dec 1995)
First published in Zero Zero issue 6 (Nov-Dec 1995)
Comment
From the website of Fantagraphics:
The 1997 magnum opus of the late Richard Sala, master of graphic noir, has been out of print for years and is now available in hardcover for the very first time.
Sala weaves the gothic cartooning traditions of Edward Gorey and Charles Addams with a melodramatic murder mystery involving astrology, ghouls, academia, and outsider art. Part noir, part horror, and part comedy, this labyrinthine tale of intrigue follows an unemployed writer named Broom who becomes ensnared unwittingly in a complex plot involving mysterious outsider artist Emile Jarnac, the shadowy machinations of the Ghoul Appreciation Society Headquarters (GASH), and the enigmatic Mr. Ixnay. Sala's deadpan delivery makes this ingeniously layered narrative a roller-coaster ride of darkly pure comic suspense. Sala's drawing style also reveals the influence of everything from Hollywood monster movies and Dick Tracy to German expressionism and Grimm's fairy tales. It's a style that's perfectly suited to the narrative, constantly flirting with Sala's fascination for the grotesque and lending palpable tension to the gruesome riddle of The Chuckling Whatsit.
Praise:
"Richard Sala was wonderfully unique. It was all there in everything he did, his love of old monster movies, the pulps, mystery and horror in general — the good stuff and the terrible — wore it all like a badge of honor and did wonderful things with it. I miss him." — Mike Mignola
"Recipe for 'The Chuckling Whatsit': 2 oz. wood-ear-mushroom-infused bourbon, 2 oz. brandy, a few of shakes angostura bitters. In memory of an artist of great flourish and influence." — Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket)
"Sala's wildly imaginative storytelling and sly pastiche of lurid pulp material make an appealing mix." — Publishers Weekly
"Sala's parody is so deliciously apt that he doesn't need actual jokes or comedy to be howlingly funny." — Booklist
"One of the great comics minds of the past half-century, a testament to the power of pure, unfiltered imagination." — Syfy Wire
The 1997 magnum opus of the late Richard Sala, master of graphic noir, has been out of print for years and is now available in hardcover for the very first time.
Sala weaves the gothic cartooning traditions of Edward Gorey and Charles Addams with a melodramatic murder mystery involving astrology, ghouls, academia, and outsider art. Part noir, part horror, and part comedy, this labyrinthine tale of intrigue follows an unemployed writer named Broom who becomes ensnared unwittingly in a complex plot involving mysterious outsider artist Emile Jarnac, the shadowy machinations of the Ghoul Appreciation Society Headquarters (GASH), and the enigmatic Mr. Ixnay. Sala's deadpan delivery makes this ingeniously layered narrative a roller-coaster ride of darkly pure comic suspense. Sala's drawing style also reveals the influence of everything from Hollywood monster movies and Dick Tracy to German expressionism and Grimm's fairy tales. It's a style that's perfectly suited to the narrative, constantly flirting with Sala's fascination for the grotesque and lending palpable tension to the gruesome riddle of The Chuckling Whatsit.
Praise:
"Richard Sala was wonderfully unique. It was all there in everything he did, his love of old monster movies, the pulps, mystery and horror in general — the good stuff and the terrible — wore it all like a badge of honor and did wonderful things with it. I miss him." — Mike Mignola
"Recipe for 'The Chuckling Whatsit': 2 oz. wood-ear-mushroom-infused bourbon, 2 oz. brandy, a few of shakes angostura bitters. In memory of an artist of great flourish and influence." — Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket)
"Sala's wildly imaginative storytelling and sly pastiche of lurid pulp material make an appealing mix." — Publishers Weekly
"Sala's parody is so deliciously apt that he doesn't need actual jokes or comedy to be howlingly funny." — Booklist
"One of the great comics minds of the past half-century, a testament to the power of pure, unfiltered imagination." — Syfy Wire
Publications
- The Chuckling Whatsit
- Fantagraphics
- 2023-01-17
- Page 045-046
-
- Un rire dans la nuit
- Vertige Graphic
- 10/2006
- Interior page
-
To leave a comment on that piece, please log in
About Richard Sala
Richard Sala's work has been appearing in a wide variety of newspapers, books and magazines, as well as on toy packaging, greeting cards and on the internet since the 1980s. After debuting with a self-published magazine, 'Night Drive,' Richard Sala gradually became (as he puts it himself) the "king of the bad anthologies".
Once Sala appeared in Raw magazine, he became a regular feature in many different types of magazines, including Buzz, Twist, Escape, Drawn & Quarterly, and Rip Off Comix. He and Charles Burns even found their way into the mainstream by way of MTV's animation showcase 'Liquid Television'. Sala's animated serial, 'Invisible Hands' appeared on MTV, and his work can also be found on the CD-ROMs 'Freak Show' and 'Bad Day on the Midway'.
But Sala liked his horror-noir material best, so he concentrated on doing comics for magazines. His "magnum opus", 'The Chuckling Whatsit', was serialized over seventeen issues of the Fantagraphics 'Zero Zero' magazine. His comic book series 'Evil Eye' ran for 12 issues between 1998 and 2001. He has since released several horror-noir graphic novels, including 'Peculia' (2002), 'Mad Night' (2005), 'The Grave Robber's Daughter' (2006), 'Cat Burglar Black' (2009) and 'The Hidden ' (2011).
Text (c) Lambiek
