''The Cardboard Valise'' is a
graphic novel
A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...
by
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, p ...
cartoonist
A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...
Ben Katchor
Ben Katchor (born November 19, 1951) is an American cartoonist and illustrator best known for the comic strip '' Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer''. He has contributed comics and drawings to ''The Forward'', ''The New Yorker,'' ''Metropol ...
. Published by
Pantheon Books
Pantheon Books is an American book publishing imprint. Founded in 1942 as an independent publishing house in New York City by Kurt and Helen Wolff, it specialized in introducing progressive European works to American readers. In 1961, it was ...
in 2011, it brought Katchor the
National Cartoonists Society
The National Cartoonists Society (NCS) is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the ...
's Graphic Novel Award.
The book deals with its characters' obsessive tourism. It was Pantheon's first graphic novel to be released in ebook format in addition to the hardcover edition.
Overview
The story follows Emile Delilah, a compulsive vacationer, who loves other cultures so much that he cannot keep himself at home; and the "supranationalist" Elijah Salamis, who walks around in his underwear in all weather, rejecting national and cultural boundaries.
Publication history
The story was originally serialized, as ''
The Jew of New York
''The Jew of New York'' is a graphic novel by Ben Katchor, inspired by Mordecai Manuel Noah's attempt to establish a Jewish homeland in Grand Island, New York in the 1820s. It was originally Serial (literature), serialized in the pages of ''The ...
'' and his ''
Julius Knipl'' strips, in various
alternative newspaper
An alternative newspaper is a type of newspaper that eschews comprehensive coverage of general news in favor of stylized reporting, opinionated reviews and columns, investigations into edgy topics and magazine-style feature stories highlighting ...
s, and was originally completed in 2000. The collected edition, however, wasn't released until March 15, 2011Katchor's first book in over ten years. In the collected edition, the original strips were left as is, but new material was added "to amplify the through-story", Katchor said, and the new material can be spotted by careful readers. "I wanted the new pages to look like an annotation, a new kind of drawing".
Katchor says the time was right to return to ''The Cardboard Valise'', as we're living in an age where people are thinking about the disappearance of paper and the culture that went with it. The book was also Pantheon's first (and to date, only) graphic novel to be released as an
e-book
An ebook (short for electronic book), also spelled as e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in electronic form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Al ...
simultaneously with the hardcover edition.
To date (Nov. 2011), the e-book has not been released.
The hardcover edition also featured fold-out cardboard handles.
References
External links
Review: Beauty and eccentricity. Especially eccentricity by Seth, Globe &MailReview: ''The Cardboard Valise'' by Sean T. CollinsReview: Voracious Maw: Katchor’s Newest Graphic Novel Explores Humanity’s Obsession with Consumption by Paul Goat AllenA.V. Club Interview with Ben Katchor by Sam Adams, April 22, 2011* at
The Ceiling Worker by Jeet Heer, Los Angeles Review of Books, June 28, 2011Interview by Damian Van Denburgh, CriticalMob
Unpacking, review of The Cardboard Valise by John Crowley, Boston Review, Nov./Dec., 2011Ben Katchor's Cardboard Valise is filled with surreal delights, review by John Lucas, Straight.com, April, 2011Profile in The Atlantic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cardboard Valise, The
2011 graphic novels
Pantheon Books graphic novels
Comics by Ben Katchor