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Comics & Graphic Novels Literary

It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken

A Picture Novella

by (author) Seth

Publisher
Drawn & Quarterly
Initial publish date
Jul 2003
Category
Literary
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781896597706
    Publish Date
    Jul 2003
    List Price
    $29.95
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781896597317
    Publish Date
    Apr 2003
    List Price
    $29.95

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Description

An Acknowledged Classic returns gorgeously re-designed.
In his first graphic novel, It's a Good Life, if You Don't Weaken–one of the best-selling D & Q titles ever–Seth pays homage to the wit and sophistication of the old-fashioned magazine cartoon. While trying to understand his dissatisfaction with the present, Seth discovers the life and work of Kalo, a forgotten New Yorker cartoonist from the 1940s. But his obsession blinds him to the needs of his lover and the quiet desperation of his family. Wry self-reflection and moody colours characterize Seth's style in this tale about learning lessons from nostalgia. His playful and sophisticated experiment with memoir provoked a furious debate among cartoon historians and archivists about the existence of Kalo, and prompted a Details feature about Seth's "hoax".

About the author

Seth is the cartoonist behind the comic-book series Palookaville, which started in the stone age as a pamphlet and is now a semi-annual hardcover. His comics have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Best American Comics, and McSweeney’s Quarterly. His illustrations have appeared in numerous publications including the cover of the New Yorker, The Walrus, and Canadian Notes & Queries. He is the subject of a recent documentary from the National Film Board of Canada, Seth’s Dominion. Seth lives in Guelph, Ontario, with his wife Tania and their two cats in an old house he has named “Inkwell’s End.”

Seth's profile page

Editorial Reviews

[Seth] invites the reader to linger cozily in his ruminative, patient stories, each of which grows from Seth's obsession with the past." - The Village Voice

"Rich, evocative. . . characterized by small moments revealing the author's sharp eye for detail" - The Globe and Mail
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