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howiedoowinfam's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
jwinchell's review against another edition
4.0
I found out about Jackie Ormes while doing some research on Aaron McGruder & his comic strip The Boondocks; a Salon article describes Ormes' Patti-Jo as Huey's ancestor. That was the hook that led to amazing information and revelations about this pioneering African American woman cartoonist in the 30's, 40's and 50's. And now I love all of them: Ormes, Patti-Jo, Huey & McGruder--each fearless crusaders for racial and social justice.
My sophomores were geeked to learn about her, too: she's cool, they said. I primarily used this book for historical context for a few Patti-Jo 'n' Ginger comics so that they could practice making inferences; it was a great way for them to start to understand satire, too. We read an article about how she used her comics to "defy persistent derogatory images of black women and children"--it took a long time for them to unpack what that means, but it was important work (all around).
I wish I had the patience for straight up biography, so I have to admit only reading this in bits and pieces. I love that Goldstein, a historian of dolls, stumbled upon Ormes' unexplored story and put this together. Someday, when I'm retired and have patience to pay attention to the entirety of other people's lives, I'll come back to this once to fully digest the entirety of Ormes' intriguing life and work.
My sophomores were geeked to learn about her, too: she's cool, they said. I primarily used this book for historical context for a few Patti-Jo 'n' Ginger comics so that they could practice making inferences; it was a great way for them to start to understand satire, too. We read an article about how she used her comics to "defy persistent derogatory images of black women and children"--it took a long time for them to unpack what that means, but it was important work (all around).
I wish I had the patience for straight up biography, so I have to admit only reading this in bits and pieces. I love that Goldstein, a historian of dolls, stumbled upon Ormes' unexplored story and put this together. Someday, when I'm retired and have patience to pay attention to the entirety of other people's lives, I'll come back to this once to fully digest the entirety of Ormes' intriguing life and work.
ryoasuka's review against another edition
informative
3.75
great book about an interesting and talented artist, but god some of the formatting sucked
crowyhead's review against another edition
3.0
This is a somewhat lackluster treatment of a fascinating and important woman.
First, the positives: Jackie Ormes, who worked as a cartoonist in the black press for nearly three decades, definitely is past due for a full book-length treatment. Because her work was mainly single-panel cartoons, and because she did not work in the mainstream press, Ormes has often been overlooked in discussions of the history of comics and cartooning. It's wonderful that this has been remedied. The book is a thing of beauty, as well; nice glossy pages, big margins, and a large enough format that the sometimes-muddy reproductions of Ormes' art (muddy because they have been reproduced from microfilm, not due to any fault of the author) are intelligible and as clear as possible. There are eighty reproductions of Ormes' popular "Patty-Jo n' Ginger" single-panel comic, as well as representative samples of her serial comics "Dixie to Harlem" and "Torchy in Heartbeats."
Nancy Goldstein's writing, however, is pedestrian, and she frequently repeats the same information. The first section of the book, a biography of Ormes, is something of a slog because of this. Perhaps the biggest problem, from my perspective, is that Goldstein originally came to the topic of Ormes' life through interest in doll collecting and the Patty-Jo doll. Thus, Goldstein's analyses of Ormes' talents and role as an artist are pretty shallow, and frequently glossed over in favor of discussion of the fashions displayed in the comics and information about the Patty-Jo doll. The book tends to feel a bit like it's neither fish nor fowl; the biography is pretty sketchy, the art isn't deeply analyzed, and even the interesting historical and sociological aspects of the Patty-Jo doll are often glossed over.
In all, I would tend to think of this book as a good start. Ormes deserved the book-length treatment, and perhaps this volume will spark interest in her life and artwork, giving rise to better books in the future.
First, the positives: Jackie Ormes, who worked as a cartoonist in the black press for nearly three decades, definitely is past due for a full book-length treatment. Because her work was mainly single-panel cartoons, and because she did not work in the mainstream press, Ormes has often been overlooked in discussions of the history of comics and cartooning. It's wonderful that this has been remedied. The book is a thing of beauty, as well; nice glossy pages, big margins, and a large enough format that the sometimes-muddy reproductions of Ormes' art (muddy because they have been reproduced from microfilm, not due to any fault of the author) are intelligible and as clear as possible. There are eighty reproductions of Ormes' popular "Patty-Jo n' Ginger" single-panel comic, as well as representative samples of her serial comics "Dixie to Harlem" and "Torchy in Heartbeats."
Nancy Goldstein's writing, however, is pedestrian, and she frequently repeats the same information. The first section of the book, a biography of Ormes, is something of a slog because of this. Perhaps the biggest problem, from my perspective, is that Goldstein originally came to the topic of Ormes' life through interest in doll collecting and the Patty-Jo doll. Thus, Goldstein's analyses of Ormes' talents and role as an artist are pretty shallow, and frequently glossed over in favor of discussion of the fashions displayed in the comics and information about the Patty-Jo doll. The book tends to feel a bit like it's neither fish nor fowl; the biography is pretty sketchy, the art isn't deeply analyzed, and even the interesting historical and sociological aspects of the Patty-Jo doll are often glossed over.
In all, I would tend to think of this book as a good start. Ormes deserved the book-length treatment, and perhaps this volume will spark interest in her life and artwork, giving rise to better books in the future.
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