Recently Read: Room to Dream by Kristine McKenna and David Lynch

Journalist Kristine McKenna and director David Lynch's 2018 biography-memoir Room to Dream utilized a novel approach: each of McKenna's well-researched, fact-based chronological chapters are paired with Lynch's memories, observations and anecdotes. I approached this book with a slight trepidation, believing that the work of great artists (and, by extension, the greatest artists) is best served by no explanations or commentary by the creators. After having finished the book, I still think the same. Simply put, art not stripped of its mysteries and origins is more magical. As Stanley Kubrick asked, wouldn't we enjoy the Mona Lisa less if Da Vinci had explained why she's smiling?

Having said that, I couldn't put Room to Dream down. Lynch's working process and his idiosyncratic (and often hilarious) ruminations are highly entertaining. For those who want more details about Eraserhead, Lynch's painting exhibitions,Twin Peaks, aborted projects and music collaborations I didn't know existed - it's all here. Dichotomies of human nature exemplified in his work are also here: in one paragraph Lynch will describe the peace inherent in Transcendental Meditation and in the next offer an offhand reference to another love interest (or wife) he left for someone new, not seeming to discern a contradiction in the two. 

Room to Dream is liberally supplemented with unusual photographs and a complete, chronological appendix of works.

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Gary Numan Biography, 1982

 

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Due in September, 2021: Putin's Russia, by Daryl Cunningham

 

"‘He’s essentially a gangster and not a particularly smart one. We need to demythologize Putin if we are to beat him.’

More info here: https://myriadeditions.com/books/putin-and-russia/

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To Be Released July 14, 2020: Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics, by Tom Scioli

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Recently Read: Andrew Carnegie, by David Nasaw

I can't imagine there being a need for a more comprehensive biography of Andrew Carnegie, so hats off to David Nasaw for years of amazing research, compilation and detailed writing. Every era of Carnegie's rags-to-riches life is illuminated, with little commentary, judgement or the sort of psychoanalyzing used by lesser biographers.

Carnegie was once, arguably, the richest man in the world and the means to which he acquired his wealth, his strategic business tactics, complex relationships with working partners and varied interests in nearly all the arts makes for a fascinating tale. He gradually began giving away as much, and then more, money than he was making, and the list of institutes, organizations and philanthropic councils he created or provided seed money for is longer than can be tabulated here. Foremost was the money he gave for the building of libraries. In fact, the library from which I borrowed this biography was a "Carnegie library". (It's sad to consider how many of them have been torn down in the last hundred years or, as in the case of the Columbus Metropolitan Library, purged themselves of a substantial percentage of their book holdings).

Carnegie was far from admirable in some of his business tactics and Nasaw's books tells the good with the bad, building a portrait of a man full of contradictions, but one who, unlike many so-called robber barons, created a lasting legacy which continues to today. I'm looking forward to reading Nasaw's biography of William Randolph Hearst.

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Michael Neno on Altipedia

I've created my own Altipedia wiki page, with much links, info and history! Check it out here: http://www.nenoworld.com/Altipedia.html

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Recently Read: Man of Rock: A Biography of Joe Kubert, by Bill Schelly

Schelly's biography of one of the most influential and accomplished cartoonists is definitive - I can't imagine another will be needed.

Kubert lived a life necessarily made somewhat unexciting due to the prodigious hours required at the drawing board to create a lifetime's worth of professional cartooning. From a cartoonist and comic reader's point of view, however, Kubert's life was indeed adventurous. From his early dealings, at the age of 11 and 12, with the first comic book companies in existence, to his founding of the Joe Kubert School, late period graphic novels and amazing work accomplished in between, Kubert lived a fulfilling and visionary life. 

Man of Rock is a little too fawning and redundant in places, especially towards the end; small criticisms which can't hurt the integrity of this well-researched book. Kubert's work on characters like Tarzan, Tor, Sgt. Rock and Hawkman have brought joy to hundreds of thousands of readers and Man of Rock is a great resource for those wanting to know more about the person who drew them so masterfully.

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Recently Read: Zappa, by Barry Miles

A fascinating read, regardless of what you think about the music or the man.

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Recently Read: Possessed: The Life of Joan Crawford, by Donald Spoto

The subtitle of this book could, I think, be more accurately called "A Life of Joan Crawford", due to the divergence of opinions of the people who knew Crawford.

Since many (especially younger) people's image of Crawford is the over-the-top, borderline campy maniac portrayed in the biopic, Mommie Dearest, it's fitting that Spoto has written a well-researched biography that tips the scales on the other side. Crawford's lifelong philanthropic efforts alone would give pause to most people who think of the self-made movie queen as a monster.

In the end, Crawford was, like most of us, a conundrum of flawed contradictions, albeit one with a powerful, almost mythical sense of destiny and with a commitment to the obsessive hard work required to fulfill it.

On a similar trail of thought, it's a shame that the talented Faye Dunaway was blasted by some less than thoughtful critics for her portrayal of Joan in Mommie Dearest and that she apparently took some of those criticisms to heart. Dunaway was superlative in the role of Joan Crawford. It's a memorable, startling, classic performance. She followed the script to its logical conclusions and those who don't like the movie (if, indeed, there are any now who don't) should blame the script, not those paid to carry it out. If anything, Dunaway may have played Crawford too well for the audience's comfort. That's something Crawford herself might have appreciated.

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Book About Comics Recently Read: Kirby, King of Comics by Mark Evanier

A beautifully designed and written book, Kirby: King of Comics features a fine summing up of Kirby's career with an astounding array of cartooning examples shot from the original art boards, notes, corrections and all. A profound tribute to one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. Highly recommended.

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