Multimedia ball busting
Ellen Forney, the Capitol Hill and The Stranger (Seattle's alt-weekly) comic darling, presented her book I Love Led Zeppelin to a fully packed and enthusiastic crowd at Bailey Coy Books. Her book, put out by Seattle's own Fantagraphic Books, is a collection of pieces she's done from 1992 to the present, featuring collaborations and autobiographical pieces.
Other comic artists may just do a signing to celebrate and introduce their work. Some artists may book a large town hall for a Q&A and signing (a la Marjane Satrapi in her "Seattle Reads Persepolis" event at Town Hall in June). But no one that I know has ever done something like Ellen. With an admirable amount of gusto she sauntered out in a very tiny skirt with guns in holsters printed on the fabric indirectly announcing how bad ass she is and how everyone should listen up. Everything about her is accessible in her comics: her hairstyle, her love of muscle cars, her love of Led Zeppelin, and her biting sense of humor. But one thing she could never portray is how expressive and commanding she is in performance.
What Ellen did was nothing short of theatrical genius: she acted out four of her stories from her book. With animation of her work. And loud music.
The first vignette was of her piece "The Final Soundtrack". The story is about a dramatic, glamorous death and what should be playing from the crumpled car's stereo, from the perspective of the innocent bystander stumbling across this scene straight from film noir. Ideally, the music blaring should be something grand and dramatic, like Led Zeppelin. But as we all know, there is a small, inexcusable chance you could be listening to something sucky and secretly loved, like Sheryl Crow or Berlin. And through use of various audio tracks and animated scenes of the fiery car crash, Ellen expertly tapped into her inner actress to express the woe and embarrassment of such a tragedy.
Following her first act was her exploration of Seattle's erotic landmarks, like the phallic Key Tower building on Cherry Street and the now retired "Magic Pussy" glowing blue flame on top of the Puget Energy Building. This slightly perverted and sweet ode to Seattle touch many fans in the audience.
Next up was her version of a date with Camille Paglia. Failing in her quest to collaborate with Ms. Paglia, her consolation prize was a date request from the woman who thinks female genitalia resembles a smelly primal swamp. The use of "Immigrant Song" every time her image was on screen was hilarious and well thought out.
Wrapping up the circus was her Margret Cho collaboration, "How to be a Fabulous Fag Hag." Through the wiping of tears through the recounting of always having a back up ride home and occasionally hanging out with someone who wants to sleep with you, it definitely was appropriate for this audience.
Perhaps it was because I knew this was the first of many presentations, I couldn't shake the feeling of this being a momentous moment in Ms. Forney's career. In a field which most disregard as an irreverent art form, she is blazing a new trails by combining theater with art with writing with comedy with music. It's certainly not something every comic artist could pull off, but using her love of performing and laughter to her advantage is nothing short of brilliant and I hope it takes her very, very far.
posted by Serene Careaga @ 5:30 PM
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