Confessions of a Pop Fan

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

T'AINT WHAT YOU DO (IT'S THE WAY THAT YOU DO IT)

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6277444.html?text=belle+and+sebastian

Belle & Sebastian Comic Due in 2006
This story originally appeared in PW Comics Week on Oct. 25, 2005

by Douglas Wolk -- 10/25/2005

The British band Belle and Sebastian's leader, Stuart Murdoch, is a longtime comics fan, and plenty of cartoonists return his affection. Early next year, as the band releases its next album, Image will publish Put the Book Back On the Shelf: A Belle and Sebastian Anthology, a collection of short comics stories, in color and black—and white, adapted from the band's older lyrics.

It'll be drawn by several dozen cartoonists, including Andi Watson, Leela Corman, Laurenn McCubbin (who designed the cover) and eight of the artists from the Flight anthologies. "There's a pretty wide range of material,"says Image editor Eric Stephenson. "Some of the artists have done straight interpretations, others have more surrealistic takes on the songs, and a few use the lyrics as a counterpoint to what's going on in the panels." Stephenson's talking to songwriter Stephen Duffy about a similar future volume.

***

I'm told Mr. Murdoch liked the story I did with Marc, so hurrah!

Appropos of nothing, I give you this quote from John Updike on the unified look of mid-century lines of books, from his review of By Its Cover:

"People like sets of things, as signs of ultimate order. Though the heyday of the uniform bound editions passed with the Edwardians, modern bibliophiles can take pleasure in paperbacks whose consistent appearance implies a congenially shared sensibility."

Thus my love of Criterion DVDs and the late '80s Collier editions of Fitzgerald is explained!

Current Soundtrack: more Divine Comedy; Duels, "Animal (6music version); My Little Airport

Current Mood: thirsty