A review by davybaby
Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer, by Michael Chabon, Ben Katchor
4.0
I would be hard-pressed to come up with a less intriguing title than this one. Nothing screams obnoxious independent comic like an obstinately boring title, so I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.
I picked it up after reading Michael Chabon's essay about it in [b:Maps and Legends|1844499|Maps and Legends|Michael Chabon|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1328694310s/1844499.jpg|2905134], and was quite impressed. While many of the strips include Julius Knipl, he is more an observer of Katchor's surreal city than a participant. Knipl walks a city of nostalgia, of melancholy workmen whose livelihoods are crumbling. But lest it seem overly serious, the occupations, businesses, and lifestyles that fill the city are imaginary. It is a city brimming with connoisseurs of smoked cigarette butts, theater critics focusing on tour bus presentations, building-wide liquid soap heists, penitentiary amusement parks, nail-biting salons, and virtuosos who play old radiators to packed apartments.
The art is its own homage to bygone days, with the square bodies and shadow washes of Dick Tracy. It's a far cry from most contemporary comic art, not least because you'd have a hard time finding a single attractive character in the book. They all have character and personality, but they can at time blend together.
There is a beautiful irony to a work so nostalgic for a time that is unabashedly fictional. Katchor's acceptance of a fact that so often eludes the nostalgic is charming and commendable. Add to this his poetic phrasing and absurdly odd perspective, and you have a delightful read on your hands. As far as graphic fiction goes, however, Katchor's work is fairly dense. He writes with a subtlety that is rare, even among good graphic fiction.
If you find a copy somewhere, flip through it. Each strip stands on its own, and you can see if Katchor's old-timey city dreamscape is the kind of place you'd like to spend some time. I know I enjoyed my trip.
I picked it up after reading Michael Chabon's essay about it in [b:Maps and Legends|1844499|Maps and Legends|Michael Chabon|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1328694310s/1844499.jpg|2905134], and was quite impressed. While many of the strips include Julius Knipl, he is more an observer of Katchor's surreal city than a participant. Knipl walks a city of nostalgia, of melancholy workmen whose livelihoods are crumbling. But lest it seem overly serious, the occupations, businesses, and lifestyles that fill the city are imaginary. It is a city brimming with connoisseurs of smoked cigarette butts, theater critics focusing on tour bus presentations, building-wide liquid soap heists, penitentiary amusement parks, nail-biting salons, and virtuosos who play old radiators to packed apartments.
The art is its own homage to bygone days, with the square bodies and shadow washes of Dick Tracy. It's a far cry from most contemporary comic art, not least because you'd have a hard time finding a single attractive character in the book. They all have character and personality, but they can at time blend together.
There is a beautiful irony to a work so nostalgic for a time that is unabashedly fictional. Katchor's acceptance of a fact that so often eludes the nostalgic is charming and commendable. Add to this his poetic phrasing and absurdly odd perspective, and you have a delightful read on your hands. As far as graphic fiction goes, however, Katchor's work is fairly dense. He writes with a subtlety that is rare, even among good graphic fiction.
If you find a copy somewhere, flip through it. Each strip stands on its own, and you can see if Katchor's old-timey city dreamscape is the kind of place you'd like to spend some time. I know I enjoyed my trip.