Graphic Witness: Four Wordless Graphic Novels by Frans Masereel, Lynd Ward, Giacomo Patri and Laurence Hyde [Paperback]

Frans Masereel (Author), Lynd Ward (Author), Giacomo Patri (Author), Laurence Hyde (Author), George A. Walker (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 14, 2007

"If you care about graphic novels, you need this book."
- New York Times best-selling author Neil Gaiman

Graphic Witness features rare wordless novels by four great 20th-century woodcut artists European and North American. The stories they tell reflect the political and social issues of their times as well as the broader issues that are still relevant today.

Frans Masereel (1899-1972) was born in Belgium and is considered the father of the wordless graphic novel. Graphic Witness includes the first reprint of his classic work, The Passion of a Man, since its 1918 publication in Munich. American Lynd Ward (1905-85), author of the provocative Wild Pilgrimage, is considered among the most important of wordless novelists. Giacomo Patri (1898-1978) was born in Italy and lived in the United States. His White Collar featured an introduction by Rockwell Kent and was used a promotional piece by the labor movement. Southern Cross by Canadian Laurence Hyde (1914-87) was controversial for its criticism of U.S. H-bomb testing in the South Pacific.

An introduction by George A. Walker places each wordless novel in its context and examines the influence of these works on contemporary culture, including film, comic books and contemporary graphic novels.

Graphic Witness will appeal to readers interested in social issues, printmaking, art history and contemporary culture.

(20070918)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. In his afterword to this jaw-dropping collection of early, little-known wordless graphic novels, cartoonist Seth asserts that rather than being seen only as a link between early comic strips and today's graphic novels, these stories stand powerfully on their own. The proof is in the stark appearance produced by wood cuts and lino-engraving and the themes in these once-controversial works: social unrest, the plight of the downtrodden worker and the oppression of the weak by the strong. Masereel's The Passion of a Man (1918) tells a modernist Christ story in 25 dark pictures, while Hyde's Southern Cross (1951) is a pastoral tragedy about Pacific islanders caught up in the U.S. Navy's A-bomb testing. Ward's Wild Pilgrimage (1932) is a passionate aria to the human spirit, threatened with crushing death by the specter of soulless factory work and cruel bosses. Patri's White Collar (1939) is the real standout; on the surface it's a simple story about a commercial artist fighting to keep his family going, but ending as a stunning validation of the dignity of man. Handsomely printed and bound and smartly edited, this book sets the standard for how to present anew the important but lesser-known classics of graphic fiction's past. (Sept.)
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Review

Walker [mentions] that these artists were figures of suspicion to J. Edgar Hoover's FBI.... Nothing could speak better of them. (George Fetherling Seven Oaks 20070819)

For the person who loves books and novelty and contemplation. (Lois Cooper Muskoka Today 20071013)

A high-minded, serious art form that transcends the barriers of language while still telling a story. (Philip Marchand The Toronto Star 200801)

This book is a treasure trove for the knowledgeable artist and the historian. (Carol Ohlin Quebec Home and School News 200709)

Provides a rare glimpse into the beginnings of the art form. (Goethe-Institut 20071013)

Themes of social justice predominate, but it is the passion and craft of the artwork that makes the greatest impact. (Alex Good The Guelph Mercury 20080930)

In a market glutted with pituitary cases in spandex, [this] reintroduction of real life concerns is a necessary tonic. (www.latereviews.blogspot.com 20071119)

While the stories are all tragic, the art is spectacular. (Annie Boulanger The Recofd (New Westminster BC) 20070930)

Jaw-dropping collection ... sets the standard for how to present anew the important but lesser-known classics of graphic fiction's past (Publishers Weekly 20071018)

Themes of social justice predominate, but it is the passion and craft of the artwork that makes the greatest impact. (Alex Good The Record 20071231)

Powerfully compelling ... full of meaning and emotion... Rush out and buy it, for it is not to be missed! (John Arkelian Artsforum 2008)

[This] collection will have many awestruck and amazed... the magnificence of these stories is in their medium. (Lance Eaton Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com) 200805)

Graphic Witness is a collection of novels ... that say eloquently in pictures what words often struggle to convey. (Ken Simmons The Telegram (St. Johns, NF) 200902)

Insider knowledge of the craft [and] his clear affinity for the spirit of these works make [Walker] the perfect presenter. (Bob artblogbybob.blogspot.com )

Deeply political, these beautiful, quasi-expressionist woodcut narratives remind us how stark and chilling suffering seemed. (Georgia Straight )

If you're ... interested in the craft of relief carving, then you really owe it to yourself to get this book. (Canadian Woodworking )

Walker's introduction gives intriguing technical and sociopolitical insights... All fascinating stuff and, overall, a feast for the eyes. (Anne Desmet Printmaker vol 27 no 1 )

A dazzling compendium...Perhaps the only way this book could be better is if it were the first of a series. (Eric Lorberer Rain Taxi Review )

Indispensable...an excellent example of the wordless novel and its potential to provoke critical thought in its audiences. (Dale Jacobs, University of Windsor Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada, V )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 424 pages
• Publisher: Firefly Books; Reprint edition (September 14, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1554072700
• ISBN-13: 978-1554072705
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #570,632 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What relief, October 4, 2007

By 

wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Graphic Witness: Four Wordless Graphic Novels by Frans Masereel, Lynd Ward, Giacomo Patri and Laurence Hyde (Paperback)

These four graphic novels cover a range of relief printmaking techniques: woodcut, linocut, and wood engraving. They cover a range of styles, as well: Masereel's Expressionism, Ward's delicate linework on bold figures, Patri's crisp realism, Hyde's detailed primitivism. And, although they cover very different eras and stories, they all end in pessimism about people's treatement of people.

Masereel's story is the most ambiguous. His imagery has least in the way of explicit continuity and the most in dramatic contrasts. Masereel makes it clear, however, that the urban world has dozens of ways to chew people up and spit them out. Ward's "Wild Pilgrimage" tries to escape an urban hell, but finds rural America is no better. It includes a lynching early on, an ugly blot from the country's not-so-distant past. Patri's "White Collar" conveys the hopeless of The Depression, a world where no amount of hard work can be enough to make ends meet. Finally, Hyde's "Souther Cross" brings us up to the atomic age, examining one of the human costs of 50s-era nuclear testing in the Pacific.

Walker's collection reminds us that the graphic novel, as we know it today, drew from many sources. On one hand, comic strip culture evolved upwards through generations of comics towards today's graphic novels, and now presents very mature works by contemporary writers. In the other direction, fine art printing found itself too constrained by the single image. It needed plots, not just snapshots. As a result, it's easy for today's reader to appreciate these moving graphic series - and maybe easier, when that reader learns about the persecutions and McCarthy-eras black-balling of some of these artists and their works.

-- wiredweird

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure Gold in Black and White, March 18, 2008

By 

James F. Murphy - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Graphic Witness: Four Wordless Graphic Novels by Frans Masereel, Lynd Ward, Giacomo Patri and Laurence Hyde (Paperback)

As a long-time collector of woodcut novels, I am overjoyed to see the republishing of these gems. In this one very reasonably priced volume, you get a great introduction to this little known art form. If you have an interest in art history, early-to-mid 20th century political movements, art deco style, or if you simply enjoy good stories, you'll love this book. You really do not need an interest in modern-day graphic novels to appreciate these works (I don't). If you do have an interest in graphic novels, get this book, and learn some family history of the art.

Each of these books (four books for the price of one!) takes a slice of the artist's contemporary life and then explores the timeless conditions of humankind. Masereel was profounding affected by World War I and the European chaos between the wars, so his art addresses social conditions, including the urbanization of society, during those years. Ward and Patri were also affected by their times -- so the hardship and civil unrest brought on by the Great Depression and the trade union movement is the background for their stories here. Ward also presciently treats the rise of nazism in his other woodcut novels.

Patri's "White Collar" in particular is a real find, because this story is not readily available in any other form, as far as I know. Finally, Hyde's story was printed in 1951, and he addresses the first man-made weapon of mass destruction, the A-bomb, and its effect on the environment of the South Seas.

This book also gives a good sampling of the art of the woodcut novel, over time. The earliest is Masereel's work of 1918, and his figures have the least detail, and thus lack an ability to communicate nuance in the characters. Ward's work, is highly detailed, in a distinctive art deco style (akin to the work of Rockwell Kent) and I find more enjoyable.

To fully appreciate all these works, you need to spend some time with them on a second and third "read." It takes only a few minutes to go through each story, which is all it takes to get a general understanding of the story. However, upon rereading, and studying the figures, you will probably come to a different understanding of the story. Without words, there is a lack of precision, so your life experience and imagination will fill in the blanks.

Congratulations to the publisher (Firefly Books) for preserving this important art form, and making it accessible at a very reasonable price. Kudos!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great works deserve a great introduction, March 3, 2011

By 

Karl Janssen (Olathe, KS United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Graphic Witness: Four Wordless Graphic Novels by Frans Masereel, Lynd Ward, Giacomo Patri and Laurence Hyde (Paperback)

Woodcut novels are a rare and beautiful art form that have been underappreciated for far too long. Thankfully in recent years some of these classic "graphic novels" have been rescued from obscurity and given the proper respect they deserve. This collection features four great works created from 1918 to 1951.

Frans Masereel is the European pioneer of the genre. His art exhibits the jagged simplicity of German Expressionism, and his storytelling is correspondingly disjointed and ambiguous. Lynd Ward is the American master, embodying the true apex of the art form. (The Library of America recently published an edition of his complete works.) His prints are beautifully detailed with intricate line work, and his narrative likewise displays complexity and depth. Canadian artist Laurence Hyde provides the most beautiful art in the book, combining the stark gravity of Masereel with the nuance of line and tone found in Ward's work. Italian-American artist Giacomo Patri supplies the weakest piece in the collection. His art, in both its conception and execution, is really not in the same league as the other three, but his story provides a valuable glimpse into life during the Great Depression. If there's a common thread among the four works, it is a stand against social injustice. No less than three of the works feature workers rising up against their oppressors, with mixed results.

The only reason I'm not giving this book five stars is because I was disappointed by the thirty-odd pages of text that accompany the art. The preface and introduction by Walker, and the afterword by Seth provide only a couple paragraphs of biographical information on each artist, with some very general comments on how these novels expressed the political realities of their time and how woodcut novels were the precursors to today's graphic novels. To this I say, "Duh." I would have preferred more detailed biographies and more on the history of woodcut novels in general.