Andrew McGinnBesprekingen

http://lampbane.livejournal.com/614876.html

"I found the book interesting and entertaining because I pretty much knew exactly what the writer was getting at. A lot of newspaper strips are pretty vapid, especially the ones that aren't even done by the original creators now. That's why I rarely ever look at a comics page anymore (well, and the fact that no one buys newspapers). I know from my work experience that the newspaper strip industry isn't driven by content and sales, but by licensing product. Lots and lots of product. And that is precisely Chas' problem in the strip—it's hard for him to get anyone to give a damn what he does in the actual "Simple Pleasures" strip because the managing editor only cares about keeping the licensees happy.

After a while it gets a bit tiresome, though, because not only is the anti-syndicate message very heavy-handed, but even I couldn't find Chas' increasingly disturbing strips funny. It went a little too far; not that there isn't a place for that type of humor, but it felt pretty disrespectful for Chas to do what he did. And plenty of people say that to him, including his own mother, but they're "outsiders" so we aren't meant to take them as seriously. His editor lets it all slide because she thinks it's all pretty hilarious and doesn't care if the strip gets cancelled, but it seems pretty damn irresponsible for her to let some of those get published."½

A tad self-indulgent, and a bit of a mess structure-wise.

This story of an alternative cartoonist son who tries not to fill his syndicated cartoonist father's shoes has a great premise and some laugh-out-loud moments. But, as some of the other reviewers here have noted, the execution sometimes doesn't live up to the premise. While the strips Chas produces to "kill" the strip can be hilarious in their over-the-topness (like the one in which young Dougie becomes a drug mule), they also really stretch credibility - not even an editor who doesn't care about her job would ever let some (or even most) of these strips run. Nevertheless, there's a lot to like here, too, and I look forward to what the team of McGinn & Neitzke do next.

As another reviewer said, interesting premise, sometimes lackluster execution. Perhaps I've been steeped too much in the Comics Curmudgeon, but the jokes toward newspaper comics fell somewhat flat. A few wonderful single-panels and subtle gags offered hints of sublime humor, and the sense that it could have been much more.

The Legacy, written by Andrew McGinn and illustrated by David Neitzke will ring close to home for many potential readers. Ostensibly about the trials of the son of a nationally syndicated cartoonist who wants to pass the torch of following in his footsteps and not let his long-running strip die, it can also be seen as a parable about the burden placed on any child to continue in the path of their parents (I think this is exceptionally true of firemen, policemen, career military men, doctors, loggers and farmers).
In this particular case, the son wants to be a cutting-edge in-your face indie comix creator, while his dad's strip hasn't changed since the early sixties, and it's humor was early fifties style even then. The protagonist, Charles Brown (yep, only he is referred to as "Chas"), unable to deny his dad's deathbed plea (which may or may not have actually happened) for him to carry on the strip, takes it over with the intention of driving a stake into it's heart. The journey he takes to do so, and the resolution of his dilemma, rings true and is worth checking out.
Two notes before closing:
1) The Legacy is probably not suitable for middle schoolers, due to language (and I think the story could have been told just fine without dropping bombs- not everyone talks like that).
2) My favorite part of the entire book was The Coda, 18 pages of a sometimes accurate (with only the names being changed) , sometimes garishly overplayed history of comics, complete with references to the McCarthy era, the War on E.C., Underground Comix and the changing comic scene. This section was very well done, and i look forward to more of the same by this team.

My acquaintance with graphic novels comes from a son who has collected for a number of years and now works part time at a comics store, and my personal history of reading and re-reading and re-re-reading various aspects of the Duckburg canon. (Oh yeah, I also can’t get enough of The Tick or Too Much Coffee Man.) All this to preface the point that, while I have experience with and understand the concept of the graphic novel, this review does not come from a real afficianado.

So with that warning out of the way…This is a very interesting concept. Chas Brown finds himself in his worst nightmare, having to take over his father’s comic strip. He then proceeds to turn it from saccharine sweet (think Family Circle starring Calvin and Hobbs) to an acerbic, insulting piece. He intends to escape his promise to his father by having the series cancelled. Throughout the telling, this is very clever and funny. The send up of other comic strips scattered throughout are spot on, and the story is good.

There is also an interesting choice at the end. The final section, “The Code”, is an “Official Exhibit Guide” from the celebration of the comic strips 75th anniversary. This could have gotten too far away, but follows nicely with everything else that has preceded. (In particular, this section us of The Comics Code and how it affected all comics we see today.) And, speaking of the end…the final conclusion of this story is the one part that just hit me wrong. Yes, I understand how it was set up, and I see why it went the way it did, but I just didn’t like it – it didn’t fit exactly where I thought it should go.

Nonetheless, this is an interesting exploration. The art helps tell the story (sorry, if that isn’t true, then it doesn’t need to be graphic novel), the story is interesting, and the entire experience (in spite of my feelings about the end) is a positive one.

I liked the book - although I've never worked for newspaper comics I did do a stint in comic books - I thought the story interesting and the art workable. I also liked the premise quite a lot - the ending took me as being abrupt (if I wasn't already a "comic book guy" then I think the Coda would have lost me - I had to leaf through it a couple of times before I understood that the story completed within). The book isn't earth-shattering but few books are these days - in all I still feel like it was worth publishing and look forward to more works by this pair of creators.

I found a lot to like in the graphic novel LEGACY by Andrew McGinn and David Neitzke.
I agree with many of the other reviews of this Early Reviewers book, that the basic premise is thin. But the pleasures of this tale are in the telling of it, not in the plot. And the more familiar you are with newspaper comics in the last decades of the 20th century, the more you will enjoy the satire of those same comics.
The banality of the Garfield-style strip which is nicely parodied; the whole idea of a comic of a Katzenjammer Kids comic being kept alive for a century; the parody of the right-wing ranting TV commentator in Chapter three; the foolishness of those "real-life" comics from the sixties ("Morgan Parker, Notary Public" and "Dr. Benway, M.D.") which have mercifully disappeared from the daily comics of today; the nicely drawn Barny Rubble-style character in the guise of a newspaper editor; there are a LOT of nicely thought-out examinations of the newspaper comic strip as it existed in former decades.
And there are many nice touches, some of which show real wisdom. I especially liked this: "...aside from Miles Davis, most people wake up one day and find that they've lost all their cool. It's like your hair. It just goes a little at a time..."

Special kudos to McGinn and Neitzke for the coda to the book. They managed to encapsulate 75 years of comic strip history in about 20 pages. Nicely done.

While I would not suggest this as the first graphic novel to give to a reader not familiar with the form, I would definitely bring it to the the attention of those readers who already know about the history of comics. The more you know, the more you will enjoy The Legacy

Other reviewers have covered the basic plot-line, so I'll refrain. The idea was good (who hasn't dreamed of a shake-up to the comfortable world of Family Circus?), the execution less so. The entire story struck me as being flat--sort of like someone telling you a reasonably good story in a monotone. I think that it's possible that there just wasn't enough story here to stretch into a full-length graphic novel. Or, perhaps, other possible story-lines (such as that between the protagonist, Chas, and his editor, Alexis) could have been fleshed out more. I was left feeling somewhat disappointed, like the plot hadn't lived up to its full potential. I'm going to keep the author in mind, though. I think Andrew McGinn has some good ideas (as evidenced by this book) and I'm eager to see if another treatment by him is more satisfying. 3 stars for a good idea, drawings that reminded me a bit of R. Crumb (thanks to the able pen of David Neitzke), but a couple off for falling a little flat.

I’m not sure who the intended audience is. The basic story of a kid who inherits his dad’s long-time and ultra-cutesy comic strip is ok, but the inevitable sacrifice of his artistic integrity on the altar of the almighty dollar is a story for whom exactly? As far as I can tell despite his hipster rebel posturing he’s now writing the comic he so despised and thus what was gained by telling his losing battle with his true calling?

Maybe I shouldn’t have used the word kid to describe our hero (?), but that’s how he comes across. Even approaching 30 he still bucks under the weight of traditionalism and tries to find solace in Noam Chomsky and the Pixies. I mean, isn’t he a little old for the teenage angst routine? In keeping with that character, he tries to get out from under his obligations to his dead father by sabotaging the strip dad worked so hard to maintain during his life. Yeah, that’s grown up. Couldn’t you have just said no and been adult instead of playing little games for your own amusement?

Overall the story reads like one big inside joke. It tried hard. I’m not that much older than Chas, but I was never so determined to out-cool my parents that I had to sneer at virtually everything they liked or valued (at least not after I turned 20 or so). Portraying mom as an aging Lucy in Charlie Brown’s sweater. Oh come on. Jealous much? It did make me laugh out loud once though – the Little Piggies panel was pretty good despite the color-by-numbers liberalism in the rest of the social commentary. And so were some of the notes about original panels in the history of comics section – immigrant blood on baby seal skin got a chuckle. But in the end, the lure of an easy paycheck looks like it was too strong to resist. Pretty soon he’s fluff-tumbled into what looks like the same life he thought so little of. I wonder if he’s in therapy over it.

An ironic thing is that I don’t remember reading the comic in question in my life; ever. And I grew up with one of the most right-wing, conservative newspapers in the country. I am at a loss as to why they didn’t carry it. Too overextended hanging onto Hagar the Horrible, Beetle Baily, The Family Circus, Blondie and Garfield I suppose.

An Angry Young Man on a kick to stun the world with subversive cartooning suddenly finds himself with the responsibility of his late father's bland daily strip; panic ensues, as always.

The struggle between (the appearance) of personal integrity and (the appearance) of a demoralizing responsibility makes for a common story, but McGinn (script) and Neitzke (art) play it out through the filter of the history of American comics and really reward the attentive reader.

A brief "coda" looks back at the story from the future, and is a quick delight of parody that really elevates the book as a whole.