Largehearted Boy: Book Notes - Dean Haspiel ("The Alcoholic")

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October 23, 2008

Book Notes - Dean Haspiel ("The Alcoholic")

In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that is in some way relevant to their recently published books.

In most graphic novels, the art or the dialogue clearly outshines the other. In Jonathan Ames and Dean Haspiel's The Alcoholic, Ames' story and Haspiel's angular artwork work together with rare synergy, creating a wonderfully dark and emotive graphic novel.

In what has become known as the "Bret Easton Ellis rule" (around LHB headquarters, at least) I instruct participating authors in this series to submit more than a mere list of songs. In this case, the rule is waived, and Dean Haspiel hopes that this playlist of tunes "will spark associated memories and/or, at the very least, one's imagination."

In his own words, here is Dean Haspiel's's Book Notes essay for his graphic novel, The Alcoholic:

"Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt.1" - The Flaming Lips
"I'm Not in Love" - 10cc
"Without you" - Harry Nilsson
"Killing Me Softly with his Song" - Roberta Flack
"Hamburger Lady" - Throbbing Gristle
"Personal Jesus" - Depeche Mode
"The Second Kingdom" - Two Dark Birds
"Head" - Prince
"Atmosphere" - Joy Division
"Into my Arms" - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
"I Can See Clearly Now" - Johnny Nash
"Blue Paper" - Moby

Dean Haspiel and The Alcoholic links:

the artist's website
the artist's webcomic, Street Code
the artist's LiveJournal
the artist's Wikipedia
the book's page at the publisher
excerpt from the book
excerpt from the book

Bookreporter.com review
Broken Frontier review
Comic Book Resources review
Daily Cross Hatch review
Huffington Post review
I Will Dare review
Miami Herald review
Montreal Mirror review
Newsarama.com review
PopSyndicate review
Portland Mercury review
Satia's Journal review
Sexuality in the Arts review
Time Out New York review
USA Today Pop Candy review
Walrus Comix! interview with the artist