Scan barcode
thisisstephenbetts's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not in love with In Love With Art. Neither as a title, nor the book itself. Taking the former, it seems to define Mouly only in relation to Spiegelman. And really that is the problem with the latter - there is just not enough of Mouly and too much of Art.
Unfortunately, I don't feel that Heer got to grips with the art of editing. Mouly's input to RAW is described in pretty nebulous terms. I realise that memories may be hazy now, and documentation scant, but a bit more detail would have been really helpful. As it was, we only really got that she worried about the order of the stories. In contrast, there was much more detail about Spiegelman's early career, which could have been skated over. (Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Spiegelman fan, it's just not what I was reading the book for).
It's a little scattershot too - some things are peculiarly detailed, others mentioned in passing. Someone says they don't know how they got a printing press in the loft - that would have been interesting to know. similarly, Heer asserts that Clowes changed his mind about RAW, but doesn't say when the second quote was from. Compounding this, some material just seemed a bit weak. The description of editors as spies; pointing out that "Ware" contains the letters of RAW... And while I'm grouching - the tension between Weirdo and RAW seemed poorly motivated. These are all pretty minor faults, but I just had a sense of the whole being somewhat insubstantial.
In his summing up, Heer asserts that it was through Spiegleman that Mouly found her love for art. I suspect he forces this point a bit because of the assonance of the sentence, but the the result almost reads as if any smart woman chosen by Spiegelman would have achieved what Mouly has. I know that wasn't Heer's intention, but it is, I think, a problem with this book - Heer cannot or will not put Spiegelman to one side. Maybe he's just too in love with Art. Sorry.
Unfortunately, I don't feel that Heer got to grips with the art of editing. Mouly's input to RAW is described in pretty nebulous terms. I realise that memories may be hazy now, and documentation scant, but a bit more detail would have been really helpful. As it was, we only really got that she worried about the order of the stories. In contrast, there was much more detail about Spiegelman's early career, which could have been skated over. (Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Spiegelman fan, it's just not what I was reading the book for).
It's a little scattershot too - some things are peculiarly detailed, others mentioned in passing. Someone says they don't know how they got a printing press in the loft - that would have been interesting to know. similarly, Heer asserts that Clowes changed his mind about RAW, but doesn't say when the second quote was from. Compounding this, some material just seemed a bit weak. The description of editors as spies; pointing out that "Ware" contains the letters of RAW... And while I'm grouching - the tension between Weirdo and RAW seemed poorly motivated. These are all pretty minor faults, but I just had a sense of the whole being somewhat insubstantial.
In his summing up, Heer asserts that it was through Spiegleman that Mouly found her love for art. I suspect he forces this point a bit because of the assonance of the sentence, but the the result almost reads as if any smart woman chosen by Spiegelman would have achieved what Mouly has. I know that wasn't Heer's intention, but it is, I think, a problem with this book - Heer cannot or will not put Spiegelman to one side. Maybe he's just too in love with Art. Sorry.
heliotrope_sunset's review against another edition
4.25
knocked off some points because there is a substantial focus on her husband. Art Spiegelman is impressive and absolutely contributed to her art and process, but the book utilizes his fame to prop her up. Francoise is entirely impressive on her own! I wish instead we were given more details on her artistic process and coloring inspirations.
joshuavrysen's review against another edition
4.0
For a book that starts with an apology to Mouly about former dismissals of their contributions to the world of comics/editing/art due to the towering shadow of Spiegelman, it does not necessarily end up doing that great of a job at bolstering Mouly to the foreground as much as it could or should, specifically from the opening sentiment of addressing past wrongs in this regard.
But.
The book is often about their relationship, and how it fostered a work/artistic collaboration which itself fostered Mouly’s individual accomplishments and influences.
So - it does what it sets out to do well, but what it attempts is complicated to extract from a problematic history of misogyny within comics’ culture - even as it acknowledges this situation in the opening words. Really maybe if they had just considered a better title I would have less misgivings - just get Art’s name out of there! But of course, they need to sell the book, so there it is, and we have a book that is not really supposed to be about him with his name on the cover - highlighting the root of the issue.
Heer is an excellent writer and the information is presented well, and the book is an engaging read I’d imagine even if one is not interested in the world of comics. And if you care about comics at all - this is an essential volume to make sure we are all acknowledging Mouly on the high pedestal she deserves in the comics publishing pantheon.
Just, ack, how did they not realize how terrible the title would come off?!
But.
The book is often about their relationship, and how it fostered a work/artistic collaboration which itself fostered Mouly’s individual accomplishments and influences.
So - it does what it sets out to do well, but what it attempts is complicated to extract from a problematic history of misogyny within comics’ culture - even as it acknowledges this situation in the opening words. Really maybe if they had just considered a better title I would have less misgivings - just get Art’s name out of there! But of course, they need to sell the book, so there it is, and we have a book that is not really supposed to be about him with his name on the cover - highlighting the root of the issue.
Heer is an excellent writer and the information is presented well, and the book is an engaging read I’d imagine even if one is not interested in the world of comics. And if you care about comics at all - this is an essential volume to make sure we are all acknowledging Mouly on the high pedestal she deserves in the comics publishing pantheon.
Just, ack, how did they not realize how terrible the title would come off?!
ronanmcd's review against another edition
5.0
Glued to this. Mouly sounds like a dynamo, but also has actually lived so much visual art the facts of her life are like a catalogue for a show. Just a wonderful book
More...