October 2, 2026
I'm still seeking the Id in the Grid.
Yesterday I laid out my ideas about where I thought the graphic novel was headed back in 1976 and I received this thoughtful feedback:
"I think your Illustrated Life & Times books are the road to redesigning the graphic novel. As a self-described graphic novel connoisseur, I will never forget seeing The Illustrated Life & Times of Billy the Kid for the first time and thinking it was the most original graphic storytelling idea I'd ever seen. Keep expanding on the idea; you're damn near there. Reimagine it without the historical verbiage and just the raw visual emotion of the story. Look at Milo Manara's Indian Summer. If you removed the word balloons, you still understood the story; it's the most beautiful and emotional graphic novel I've read. Let your art tell 75% of the story: find the human story and damn trying to mine every fact. Have some fun; you've more than earned it! Best wishes!!"
—Bradley Ireland
Thanks Bradley for the positive feedback and insight. Yes, I have the Milo graphic novel you reference, but I must say, the emotion it conveys to me is wildly promiscuous and perhaps even a little horndoggy?
Milo Manara's Indian SummerMeanwhile, back on the road to providence. . .
Gee, I wonder what ol' Georgia has to say about all this?
"Whether you succeed or not is irrelevant. There is no such thing. Making your unknown known is the important thing."
—Georgia O'Keeffe
LOL! Well, your right , but real life is a little horndoggy, isn't it? Anyway, beyond the nudity, it's the characters to me that felt real: The indian accepting his death in the opening scene on the beach, the indian picking his nose, Wheellock kicking at the dog, the crow pecking the forehead of the warrior, Phyillis' death, Squando's sons death, etc. Everything about it felt real. It never felt like a graphic novel, certainly not in 1986. Manara's The Paper man is another example. In anycase, part of this realism is related to a sense of humor in the story and visual activity of the main and sub-characters. Real characters vs. those chiseled from stone. Your artistry, story-telling ability, and sense of humor are the ingredients to create an unforgetable graphic novel movie (and another probable movie option). And if all else fails, through in some nudity. Best wishes!
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