Alec: The King Canute Crowd by Eddie Campbell

Eddie Campbell (born August 10, 1955) is a Scottish-born comics artist and cartoonist who now lives in Australia. Probably best known as the illustrator and publisher of From Hell (written by Alan Moore), Campbell is also the creator of the semi-autobiographical Alec stories, and Bacchus (aka Deadface), a wry adventure series about the few Greek gods who have survived to the present day. His latest graphic novel The Fate of the Artist, which playfully investigates Campbell's own sudden disappearance, will be available May 2006 from First Second Books. Alec: The King Canute Crowd by Eddie Campbell This image is a book cover. ... Alec: The King Canute Crowd by Eddie Campbell This image is a book cover. ... August 10 is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Royal motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within the United Kingdom Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ... Comics (or, less common, sequential art) is a form of visual art consisting of images which are commonly combined with text, often in the form of speech balloons or image captions. ... A cartoonist at work. ... An illustrator is a graphic artist who specializes in enhancing written text by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... The cover of the From Hell collected edition. ... Alan Moore Alan Moore (born November 18, 1953, in Northampton, England) is a British writer most famous for his work in comics, including the acclaimed graphic novels Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. ... Bacchus is a comics character created by Eddie Campbell and based upon the Roman god of wine and revelry, known to the Greeks as Dionysus. ... Look up adventure in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Greek mythological characters (Most of the gods and goddesses had Roman equivalents. ... First Second Books First Second Books is an American publisher of graphic novels that are innovative, daring, and entertaining. ...

His scratchy pen-and-ink style is influenced by the impressionists, illustrators of the age of "liberated penmanship" such as Phil May, Charles Dana Gibson, John Leech and George du Maurier, and cartoonists Milton Caniff and Frank Frazetta (particularly his Johnny Comet strip). His writing has been compared to Jack Kerouac and Henry Miller. See also Impressionist (entertainment): A girl with a watering can by Renoir, 1876 Impressionism was a 19th century art movement, which began as a private association of Paris-based artists who exhibited publicly in 1874. ... Phil May (22 April 1864 - 5 August 1903) was an English caricaturist. ... Charles Dana Gibson (September 14, 1867 _ December 23, 1944) was an American graphic artist, noted for his creation of one of the first pin-up girls, the Gibson Girl. Woman Jurors by Charles Dana Gibson, 1902 He was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts. ... John Leech (August 29, 1817–October 29, 1864), was an English caricaturist. ... Self portrait of George du Maurier George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier (6 March 1834 – 8 October 1896) was a British author who was born in Paris, France. ... Milton Arthur Paul Caniff (February 28, 1907-May 3, 1988) was an American cartoonist most famous for Terry and the Pirates. ... Frank Frazetta (born February 9, 1928) is one of the worlds most influential fantasy and science fiction artists. ... Jack Kerouac Jack Kerouac (March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969) was an American novelist, writer, poet, artist, and part of the Beat generation. ... Henry Miller photo taken by Carl Van Vechten, 1940 Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American writer and, to a lesser extent, painter of German Catholic heritage. ...

Alec

Campbell made his earliest attempts at autobiographical comics in the late 1970s with In the Days of the Ace Rock and Roll Club. This evolved into Alec, with the character of Alec MacGarry standing in for the author. Campbell self-published these early comics in the amateur press association BAPA and then as short-run photocopied pamphets in London in the early 1980s, selling them at conventions and comic marts and via Paul Gravett's "Fast Fiction" market stall. When Gravett founded Escape Magazine, Campbell was one of the artists featured. In 1984 Escape published Alec, a slim collection of his semi-autobiographical stories. This was followed by two further collections, Love and Beerglasses (1985) and Doggie in the Window (1986). In 1990 all three were collected, together with some unpublished material, as The Complete Alec (republished as The King Canute Crowd in 2000). Autobiographical comics (often referred to in the comics field as simply autobio) are autobiography in the form of comic books or comic strips. ... An Amateur Press Association or APA is a group of people who produce individual pages or magazines that are sent to a Central Mailer for collation and distribution to all members of the group. ... BAPA was the first Amateur Press Association in Britain. ... A small, much-used Xerox copier in a high school library. ... The Houses of Parliament and the clock tower containing Big Ben Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London (see Wiktionary:London for the name in other languages) is the capital of the United Kingdom and England. ... Paul Gravett founded Escape magazine. ... The cover to Escape Magazine issue 3. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... This article is about the year 2000. ...

Two further slim volumes, The Dead Muse (1990) and Little Italy (1991) appeared through Fantagraphics Books. Grafitti Kitchen, which Campbell considers the highpoint of the series, was published by Tundra in 1993, and The Dance of Lifey Death followed in 1994 from Dark Horse Comics. This article is about the year. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Fantagraphics Books is an American publisher of alternative comics, underground comics, classic comic strip anthologies, magazines, and graphic novels located in the Maple Leaf neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. ... In physical geography, tundra is an area where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book publisher, one of the largest independent publishers behind dominant publishers Marvel Comics and DC Comics. ...

Campbell then followed up these works by self publishing two larger works. Alec: How To Be An Artist (2000), a study of the art form and of Campbell's own artistic journey, and After The Snooter (2002), in which Campbell appears to have laid Alec McGarry to rest. Both works were originally serialised within his Bacchus magazine, but were reworked upon collection. This article is about the year 2000. ... For the Cusco album, see 2002 (album). ...

Campbell did start to serialise another work, The History Of Humour, within the pages of his magazine Eddie Campbell's Egomania, but given the demise of the magazine in December 2002 it is questionable if this work will ever be finished. Look up December in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For the Cusco album, see 2002 (album). ...

He is currently reported to be working on a new novel, The Fate of the Artist, and given previous serialisation of his work, a portion may already have been published within the pages of Autobiographix (2003), an anthology from Dark Horse Comics, titled I Have Lost My Sense Of Humour. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book publisher, one of the largest independent publishers behind dominant publishers Marvel Comics and DC Comics. ...

The character of Alec received a nomination for the Squiddy Award for Best Character in 2000. The graphic album Alec: How to Be an Artist was nominated for the Harvey Award for Best Graphic Album of Previously Published Work in 2002.

Bacchus

The success of Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles led to a short-lived explosion of black and white independent comics in the mid-1980s. Campbell joined in, creating the series Deadface for small British publisher Harrier Comics, telling the story of Bacchus, god of wine and revelry, and the few other Greek mythological figures who have survived to the present day. When the Harrier series ended after eight issues, Campbell began publishing short Bacchus stories in a variety of anthologies, before Dark Horse Comics reprinted the Harrier series as Immortality isn't Forever in 1990 and the short stories as Doing the Islands With Bacchus in 1991. Campbell continued the story with Dark Horse until 1995 as a series of miniseries. Kevin Eastman Kevin Eastman (born May 30, 1962) is an American comic book artist who is best known as the co-creator (with Peter Laird) of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. ... Peter Laird (born January 27, 1954 in North Adams, Massachusetts), created the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 1984 along with Kevin Eastman. ... The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) are a fictional team of four anthropomorphic turtles who are also teenagers, mutants and ninjas. ... Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book publisher, one of the largest independent publishers behind dominant publishers Marvel Comics and DC Comics. ... This article is about the year. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

From Hell

Beginning in 1989 Campbell illustrated Alan Moore's ambitious Jack the Ripper graphic novel From Hell, serialised initially in Steve Bissette's horror anthology Taboo. Moore and Bissette chose Campbell as illustrator for his down-to-earth approach which gave the story a convincing realism and did not sensationalise the violence of the murders. After Taboo folded From Hell was published in installments by Tundra and then Kitchen Sink Press, until the epilogue Dance of the Gull-catchers saw print in 1998. 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Alan Moore Alan Moore (born November 18, 1953, in Northampton, England) is a British writer most famous for his work in comics, including the acclaimed graphic novels Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. ... Jack the Ripper is the pseudonym given to an unidentified serial killer active in the largely impoverished Whitechapel area of London, England in the second half of 1888. ... A graphic novel (GN) is a long-form comic book, usually with lengthy and complex storylines, and often aimed at more mature audiences. ... The cover of the From Hell collected edition. ... Stephen R. Bissette (also known as Steve Bissette) is a comics artist and publisher best known for working with writer Alan Moore and inker John Totleben on the DC comic Swamp Thing in the 1980s. ... Horror fiction is, broadly, fiction in any medium intended to scare, unsettle or horrify the reader. ... In physical geography, tundra is an area where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. ... Kitchen Sink Press was a comic book publisher in from the late 1960s until the late 1990s when it went out of business. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

Self-publishing

Campbell founded Eddie Campbell Comics and began self-publishing in 1995, after the film rights to From Hell were optioned. The monthly series Bacchus reprinted and completed the story begun in Deadface, as well as carrying new and reprinted Alec stories. He went on to collect both Alec and Bacchus as a series of graphic novels. He also published the collected edition of From Hell, and comics adaptations of two of Alan Moore's performance art pieces, The Birth Caul and Snakes and Ladders. 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Performance art is art where the actions of an individual or a group at a particular place and in a particular time, constitute the work. ...

Facing an increasingly indifferent market for his work, and the collapse of his U.S. distributor, Campbell ended his publishing imprint in 2003 after releasing the second issue of Egomania. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Manifesto

In July of 2004, whilst debating the merits of the term Graphic Novel in a discussion on The Comics Journal's message board, Campbell formulated a manifesto which aimed to move the debate on via the creation of an artistic movement. The Comics Journal is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books and strips. ...

Eddie Campbell's (Revised) Graphic Novel Manifesto

There is so much disagreement (among ourselves) and misunderstanding (on the part of the public) around the subject of the graphic novel that it's high time a set of principles were laid down.

1. "Graphic novel" is a disagreeable term, but we will use it anyway on the understanding that graphic does not mean anything to do with graphics and that novel does not mean anything to do with novels. (In the same way that "Impressionism" is not really an applicable term; in fact it was first used as an insult and then adopted in a spirit of defiance.)
2. Since we are not in any way referring to the traditional literary novel, we do not hold that the graphic novel should be of the supposed same dimensions or physical weight. Thus subsidiary terms such as "novella" and "novelette" are of no use here and will only serve to confuse onlookers as to our goal (see below), causing them to think we are creating an illustrated version of standard literature when in fact we have bigger fish to fry; that is, we are forging a whole new art which will not be bound by the arbitrary rules of an old one.
3. "Graphic novel" signifies a movement rather than a form. Thus we may refer to "antecedents" of the graphic novel, such as Lynd Ward's woodcut novels but we are not interested in applying the name retroactively.
4. While the graphic novelist regards his various antecedents as geniuses and prophets without whose work he could not have envisioned his own, he does not want to be obliged to stand in line behind William Hogarth's Rake's Progress every time he obtains a piece of publicity for himself or the art in general.
5. Since the term signifies a movement, or an ongoing event, rather than a form, there is nothing to be gained by defining it or "measuring" it. It is approximately thirty years old, though the concept and name had been bandied about for at least ten years earlier. As it is still growing it will in all probability have changed its nature by this time next year.
6. The goal of the graphic novelist is to take the form of the comic book, which has become an embarrassment, and raise it to a more ambitious and meaningful level. This normally involves expanding its size, but we should avoid getting into arguments about permissible size. If an artist offers a set of short stories as his new graphic novel, (as Eisner did with A Contract with God) we should not descend to quibbling. We should only ask whether his new graphic novel is a good or bad set of short stories. If he or she uses characters that appear in another place, such as Jimmy Corrigan's various appearances outside of the core book, or Gilbert Hernandez' etc. or even characters that we do not want to allow into our "secret society," we shall not dismiss them on this account. If his book no longer looks anything like comic books we should not quibble as to that either. We should only ask whether it increases the sum total of human wisdom.
7. The term graphic novel shall not be taken to indicate a trade format (such as "trade paperback" or "hardcover" or "prestige format"). It can be in unpublished manuscript form, or serialized in parts. The important thing is the intent, even if the intent arrives after the original publication.
8. The graphic novelists' subject is all of existence, including their own life. He or she disdains "genre fiction" and all its ugly clichés, though they try to keep an open mind. They are particularly resentful of the notion, still prevalent in many places, and not without reason, that the comic book is a sub-genre of science fiction or heroic fantasy.
9. Graphic novelists would never think of using the term graphic novel when speaking among their fellows. They would normally just refer to their "latest book" or their "work in progress" or "that old potboiler" or even "comic" etc. The term is to be used as an emblem or an old flag that is brought out for the call to battle or when mumbling an enquiry as to the location of a certain section in an unfamiliar bookstore. Publishers may use the term over and over until it means even less than the nothing it means already.
   • Furthermore, graphic novelists are well aware that the next wave of cartoonists will choose to work in the smallest possible forms and will ridicule us all for our pomposity.
10. The graphic novelist reserves the right to deny any or all of the above if it means a quick sale.

A graphic novel (GN) is a long-form comic book, usually with lengthy and complex storylines, and often aimed at more mature audiences. ... Impressionism was a 19th century art movement that began as a loose association of Paris-based artists who began publicly exhibiting their art in the 1860s. ... An art movement is a tendency or style in art with a specific common philosophy or goal, followed by a group of artists during a restricted period of time (usually a few months, years or decades). ... Lynd Kendall Ward (26 June 1905 – 28 June 1985) was an American artist and storyteller, and son of Methodist minister and prominent political organizer Harry F. Ward. ... Four horsemen of the Apocalypse by Albrecht Dürer. ... William Hogarth, self-portrait, 1745 William Hogarth (November 10, 1697 – October 26, 1764) was a major English painter, engraver, pictorial satirist, and editorial cartoonist who has been credited as a pioneer in western sequential art. ... Plate 3 - Tom succumbs to the pleasures of the flesh at The Rose Tavern, Drury Lane. ... Will Eisner (March 3, 1917, Brooklyn, New York City – January 3, 2005, Lauderdale Lakes, Florida) was an acclaimed American comics writer, artist and entrepreneur. ... Cover A Contract with God is a graphic novel by Will Eisner, its full title being A Contract with God: and Other Tenement Stories. ... Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth a graphic novel by Chris Ware, published in 2000. ... Gilbert Hernandez and his brothers Jaime and Mario are the creators of a black & white independent comic Love and Rockets, published by Fantagraphics Books. ...

Bibliography

• Alec: The King Canute Crowd (2000)
• Alec: Three Piece Suit (2001) -- collecting Grafitti Kitchen, Little Italy, and The Dance of Lifey Death
• Alec: How to be an Artist (2001)
• Alec: After the Snooter (2002)
• Bacchus Vol 1: Immortality Isn't Forever (1995)
• Bacchus Vol 2: The Gods of Business (with Ed Hillyer, 1996)
• Bacchus Vol 3: Doing the Islands with Bacchus (1997)
• Bacchus Vol 4: The Eyeball Kid - One Man Show (with Ed Hillyer, 1998)
• Bacchus Vol 5: Earth, Water, Air, Fire (with Wes Kublick, 1998)
• Bacchus Vol 6: The 1001 Nights of Bacchus (2000)
• Bacchus Vol 7/8: The Eyeball Kid Double Bill (with Wes Kublick, 2002)
• Bacchus Vol 9: King Bacchus (with Pete Mullins, 1996)
• Bacchus Vol 10: Banged Up (with Pete Mullins and Marcus Moore, 2001)
• From Hell (with Alan Moore, 2000)
• The Birth Caul (adaptation of an Alan Moore performance art piece, 1999)
• Snakes and Ladders (adaptation of an Alan Moore performance art piece, 2001)
• Batman: The Order of Beasts (with Darren White, 2004)

This article is about the year 2000. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... For the Cusco album, see 2002 (album). ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII in Roman) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... For the Cusco album, see 2002 (album). ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... The DC Comics superhero Batman (originally and still sometimes referred to as the Batman or the Bat-Man) is a fictional character who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. ... It has been designated the: International Year of Rice (by the United Nations) International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO) 2004 World Health Day topic was Road Safety (by World Health Organization) Year of the Monkey (by the Chinese calendar) See the world in...

References

• The Eddie Campbell Interview. (September, 2004) Graphic Novel Review In Depth - The Eddie Campbell Interview - Sidebar - Eddie Campbell's (Revised) Graphic Novel Manifesto. URL accessed on May 1, 2005.
• The Comics Journal Message Board Thread. The Comics Journal Message Board: NYTimes Mag Article 7/11/04 - within which Eddie Campbell formulated his Graphic Novel Manifesto). URL accessed on May 1, 2005.
• Comic Book Awards Almanac

May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Eddie Campbell: The Comics Index
• Currently Available Work
• An interview with Eddie Campbell
• Eddie Campbell at Lambiek.net
• Interview with Eddie Campbell at Graphic Novel Review
• Alec: How to be an Artist review at Time.com