Top Shelf Productions, 2007. ISBN: 189183097X

I have to say at the start, that I am not generally a fan of graphic novels, particularly those without words. However, I think Andy Hartzell has taken on a difficult topic and portrayed it metaphorically in an interesting and successful way.

This story features the life of a young fox, who while able to pass as a successful fox, wishes s/he were really a bunny. During childhood, our protagonist is caught cross-dressing as a bunny, and is packed off to fox camp where horrible and soul-destroying activities include target practice on bunnies, harassing and hunting bunnies, and eating them.

Finally our miserable fox friend escapes to a land where foxes and bunnies are friends, and where s/he has surgery to be transformed into the bunny of hir dreams.

Transgender teens will immediately understand the situation of our young fox, and may find this book a useful way to explain their feelings to others.

By Andy Hartzell (author and illustrator)

Place: Publisher & Year: Marietta, GA: Top Shelf Productions, 2007

Genre: Fantasy, animal story

Format: Graphic novel

ISBN: 9781891830976

Intended audience: Adults (but would be fine for young adults)

Number of pages: 104

Settings: Foxville, Bunnyburg, and Funniopolis

Time period: contemporary

Plot summary: In a world populated by foxes and bunnies, the foxes brutally hunt and devour the bunnies.  Everybody knows this and their places within this world – everybody except one lonely fox who doesn’t fit in.

Appeal factors:

Pacing: The book is divided into three sections.  The first is the smallest and moves more slowly than the other two.  It introduces the reader to the world and characters at a more leisurely pace.  The following two sections move quite rapidly.

Characterization: There is one main character in this book; the story is told through his perspective.  All of the characters in the book are either foxes or bunnies.

Frame: Drawn in black and white with a wonderful use of contrast.  The story tells a dark tale, but with an illuminating ending.

Story line: A twisted and disturbing tale which deals with identity issues in both a funny and serious manner (without using any words at all).

Subject headings:

From PCPL:

Foxes — Comic books, strips, etc.

Rabbits — Comic books, strips, etc.

Graphic novels.

From NoveList:

Foxes

Rabbits

Identity (Psychology)

New identities

Interpersonal relations

Coping

Belonging

Toleration

Graphic novels

Similar authors:

From Amazon:

I Killed Adolph Hitler by Jason

The Living and the Dead by Jason

Hey, Wait… by Jason

Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel

Skim by Mariko Tamaki

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

Blankets by Craig Thompson

I Love Led Zeppelin by Ellen Forney

Personal notes: I loved this book.  It’s definitely twisted and disturbing, but so is life.

Other (themes, diversity): Diversity – cross dresser

Hartzell’s work is amazing but the tortured bunnies make me too sad, to be honest.

Andy Hartzell, SF Zine Fest, SF Examiner story

SAN FRANCISCO — It’s no small feat to evoke deep reflection on political conflict, race relations, gender equality and identity with one wordless graphic novel about foxes and bunnies, but Andy Hartzell brilliantly does just that.

The award-winning cartoonist, one of the founders of underground comics distribution company Global Hobo, will discuss “Fox Funny Bunny” this weekend at SF Zine Fest, a small-press conference for writers, cartoonists and other artists.

In Hartzell’s cartoon, black foxes terrorize white bunnies in deceptively simple drawings that have prompted readers and critics to draw parallels to the Rwandan genocide, Nazi Germany, the consumer economy, animal rights, and gay and lesbian identity issues.

Although the main fox character captures and butchers dozens of rabbits, in his heart of hearts, he secretly longs to be a bunny.

“The story doesn’t attempt to explain where this urge comes from or what it means,” Hartzell says. “Maybe our hero is repelled by his own kind and trying to forge an alternate identity. … Or maybe he’s seeking to express his truest self. He himself doesn’t understand it, but it sets the story in motion.

“And even though this particular urge only makes sense in this particular fantasy world, the response to the book indicates to me that lots of people can identify with it.”

“Fox Funny Bunny’s” appeal is aided by Hartzell’s decision to eschew dialogue or thought bubbles, enabling his themes of oppression and the search for self to resonate with so many readers.

“I wanted to explore a particular state of mind, a spiritual condition or whatever, without pinning it down with political or psychological terms,” Harzell says. “Because these terms always limit and distort the thing they’re trying to describe.”

Hartzell, a designer at Telltale Games who is developing “Wallace & Gromit” point-and-click games, is also the author of the “Monday” series, which uses the story of Genesis as a jumping-off point. He has contributed to the gay anthology “The Book of Boy Trouble” and won the Xeric Award in 1995 for “Bread & Circuses,” about his stint as a caricature artist in Las Vegas.

The perception that comics are “lowbrow” art is an evaluation that’s evolving.

When Art Spielgman’s 1992 Pulitzer Prize-winning “Maus” came out, Hartzell says, “Critics praised it, but only by insisting that it somehow transcended the comic-book medium. Now comics are emerging as a respectable medium, so a new critical language has to be developed to talk about them.”

This August 22nd and 23rd marks the ninth anniversary of one of the Bay Area’s most anticipated gatherings of small publishers and authors, the SF Zine Fest.  I particularly like the Zine Fest because it’s more laid-back and intimate than something like Comic-Con or A.P.E., and it really celebrates the connection between Zines and other crafts.  I wanted to share some info about this event with you, and about the world of small publishing in general, so I went straight to the source and asked Francois Vigneault, the organizer of the Zine Fest for the past four years.

For those of us who are unfamiliar with the event, what is the SF Zine Fest?

The Zine Fest is a free annual festival celebrating zines (i.e. small-press magazines and other publications covering almost every imaginable subject and format) and other creative works coming out of the DIY ethos. The SFZF has been in existence since 2001, when Jenn Starfiend founded it; I have been involved with the Fest for the last four years.

This year the Fest is on August 22 &23, at the San Francisco County Fair Building (the same spot the Holiday Bazaar Bizarre SF happens in), which is this adorable 70s-style building right in the middle of Golden Gate Park, it’s really beautiful!

Every year we have hundreds of creators and small-press publishers selling, trading, and otherwise sharing their work with the public. Additionally, we always run a pretty expansive slate of workshops and panels on everything from screenprinting to nature journaling, hopefully inspiring the attendees to try their hands at making their own zines, mini-comics, or other DIY creations.

Who might be interested in attending SFZF?

Well, the short answer is anybody! We’ve been growing every year, and now we bring together over one hundred zinesters, cartoonists, poets, crafters, printmakers, and other artists with an audience of well over 1000 attendees. Of course, anyone who’s ever been a fan of a zine or indy comic should definitely come; with our mix of zine stalwarts like John Marr (Murder Can Be Fun), new stars like Esther Pearl Watson (Unloveable), and totally unknown (but totally awesome) first-time creators, you’re sure to come across something that will rekindle your love of DIY expression. But it’s also a great show for anyone who’s just interested in checking out what’s going on artistically outside the purview of the mainstream.

What are some highlights we can expect at this year’s Zine Fest?

As the Zine Fest gets a bit bigger, one of the benefits is that more and more out-of-towners are coming to the show… This year we have a major contingent of creators and publishers from Portland, Oregon, coming in for the show: Theo Ellsworth, Sarah Oleksyk, Sparkplug Comics, Tugboat Press and others… I guess it’s a great excuse to visit San Francisco!

Another new thing for us this year is that our posters will be extra-fancy: Aaron Cohick of New Lights Press and Hello! Lucky will be letterpress printing our Special Guest Andy Hartzell’s awesome zine love-in design! We will be selling them at the Fest and online to help raise money for the show; they are going to be really, really nice.

Oh, and it looks like we will finally get our act together and have an official Zine Fest party this year! We’re still working out the details, but as soon as we’ve got it set in stone, we’ll announce it on our blog.

Where do you see the small publishing/zine movement in the Bay Area going today?  What has it been like historically?

It’s funny, I realized the other day that the Zine Fest started well after what’s considered the height of the zine trend of the nineties, and yet we still grow every year! So I definitely think that any rumors of self-publishing’s demise are greatly exaggerated. I find that in the Bay Area there is a robust artistic community at large, and there will always be new folks making little publications to express themselves. If you just walk into a zine-oriented shop like Needles & Pens or Rock Paper Scissors you’ll be faced with dozens of titles, from the autobiographical to the political.

San Francisco has a tremendous history of small-press publishing. Robert Crumb, Spain, and other underground cartoonists are almost as symbolic of the City in the 60s as bands like the Grateful Dead, and of course there are the Beats: Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s New Lights Press publishing Allen Ginsberg’s Howl in the 1950s, there were only 1000 copies in that first edition! Of course, there is so much more; the San Francisco Public Library has an amazing Little Maga/Zine Collection with over a thousand titles. Andrea Grimes, who runs the collection, participated in a roundtable discussion at the Zine Fest a few years ago; I’m hoping to have her give a talk on the history of zines at this year’s Fest.

What is the role of craft at the Zine Fest?

A definite trend that I have seen at the Zine Fest is the increasing level of handicraft which folks are putting into their zines, mini-comics, and other projects. It’s become much more common to see zines with screen-printed covers, elaborate bindings, and other embellishments. I think part of the trend can be tied into the rise of the blogosphere; now that there are so many venues to share one’s writing and artwork online, I see a proportional  emphasis in the DIY publishing world on the tangible nature of the zine as object, something which the creator has invested time and love in so that it could exist as a real thing rather than just clicking “publish” and it is instantly on the internet. Of course, some of our creators really take this to the extreme, and their art is in large part about the craft that goes into it; for instance, every year I am just blown away by what Tom Biby and Jonathan Fetter-Vrom of Two Fine Chaps come out with, like hand-cut pop-up diorama books!

We also always have a healthy showing from the broader craft community, from quilts to needle-felted monsters! Although our emphasis will always be on zines and self-publishing, we love to see creative types from other disciplines at the Fest, there is so much overlap between all these different crafty interests.

What advice can you give to people who would like to start small-/self-publishing?

The great thing is that it is a really easy field to try out! There are really no rules in regards to a zine’s content, format, theme, or even quality; everyone can and should make a least one in their lifetime. I personally feel it’s hard to go wrong if you just try and document some aspect of life which you find interesting, even if it seems silly at first. For instance, I’m a bird watcher, and I have a zine I’m bringing out for the Fest that’s called Bird Brain, it’s all the notes and sketches I make while I’m out doing that. It’s not like I’m going to necessarily have anything new to say about the barn swallows and great horned owls I’ve seen, but I think there will be some interest for people in just seeing my point of view on something I care about.

What are your hopes for the Zine Fest and small publishing in the future?

It’s funny, but I think the economic downturn will be good for the world of self-publishing and small press in some ways. During the recent boom, lots of great creators from the small-press world were (deservedly) getting publishing deals for their work in the mainstream press. Now that the economy is in rough shape, a lot of those folks are having their series canceled, unfortunately. But these creators still want to make their art, happily, so I foresee a return to self-publishing for them. It’s a really welcoming place!

As far as the Zine Fest, I basically just want to connect as many creators with the largest public that I can, and hopefully facilitate the development of new artists, too. I’d like to run more workshops; I love to see folks realize that they can express themselves through art and craft, from screen printing and bookbinding to illustration and writing. Everyone’s got a story to tell!

Photos: 1. SFZF 2009 Poster – Art by Andy Hartzell 2. Nicole Bennet from Family Style Jamboree zine.  3. Some of the many titles which have been featured in years past.  4. John Isaacson teaching a Zine Fest 2008
attendee about silk screening.  5.  L-R, Renée French (Micrographica) and Trevor Alixopulos
(Hot Breath of War).

Papercutter #7
Edited by Greg Means and Galen Longstreth

Papercutter issue seven spotlights four emerging comic artists with three solid stories. Though none of the tales ranks among my new favorites, the artists prove their mettle and position themselves as ones to keep an eye on in the future.

The featured story, “Americus,” is the tale of two boys on the day of their middle school graduation. A collaborative effort by MK Reed and Jonathan Hill, “Americus” offers somewhat typical fare for plot: a smart, nerdy boy (Neil)has a tough time fitting in in middle school. His friend Danny is also a nerd, but somewhat less socially inept and less picked on, meaning he ends up with a slow dance at the end of the night while Neil ends up rummaging through a dumpster to fish out his book, which a couple of bullies grabbed and threw inside.

Not particularly new stuff, but Reed and Hill do a good job keeping the story moving with some unexpected moments: finding out Neil has no father in the picture and a brief, two-page escape into the fantasy world of the eighth book of one of the boys’ favorite series — the cleverly titled Chronicles of Apathea Ravenchilde, the Huntress Wytch. (Sort of a Harry Potter meets The Chronicles of Narnia.) The artwork, like the story, doesn’t take any big risks, but the bold, clean style suits the story, and at the end especially, frames of Neil digging alone through the dumpster with the shading of nighttime around him are particularly touching.

Aron Nels Steinke’s contribution to the anthology comes next and lasts for one short page. It’s impossible to really get a feel for an artist from only 16 small panels, but “The Hill” shows that Steinke clearly has a strong sense of layout, timing, and humor. The frames are arranged like a contact sheet of slides, or a rows of film strips, and the story—of the artist falling off his bike while riding down a hill when he was seven—moves with a corresponding cinematic feel.

Far and away my favorite story in the anthology, however, is the final one, “The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep,” an adaptation of a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale by Andy Hartzell that tells the tale of forbidden love between two toy figures. Much of the story’s charm lies in its funny writing (“The figurines had a great deal in common. Both were young, both were made from the same clay…”), and Hartzell makes a great habit of juxtaposing the inanimate, motionless faces of two of the toys with the completely melodramatic expressions of the two others.

In addition, more than any of the issue’s other artists, Hartzell experiments with layout. The last two-page spread of the comic is absolutely fantastic; it follows the runaway couple up the chimney, pans across the giant real world that lays before them—taking in their terrified reactions—and then follows them back down the chimney (one mere glance at the outside world out proves too much for the sheltered, overly emotional shepherdess). The spread is thoughtfully done, with comedic drawing and timing, and a perfect contrast between the sweeping vista of the outside world and the small, close-up panels showing the shepherdess and the chimney sweep.

Papercutter bills itself as a quarterly mini-anthology “dedicated to showcasing the best young, underexposed and emerging comic book artists.” So far as I can tell, it’s doing its job.

–Jillian Steinhauer