Synopses & Reviews
The newest addition to Pantheon's growing list of graphic novels: a visually beautiful, narratively intricate, and powerful book by one of the most original, and–until now–least recognized comic artists at work today.
The place is New York City in 1933. The setting: the Fontaine Talking Fables animation studio. Teddy Mishkin–definitely alcoholic, possibly insane–is hard at work on the latest cartoon short for Waldo the Cat, the "star" of Fontaine's stable of animated characters. But little does anyone (except Teddy) realize that Waldo is real–and that he is Teddy's insidiously helpful assistant.
From the Hardcover edition.
Review
"...[Deitch]creates a tangible black-and-white world and sucks us onto a ride that is both comic and horrible. It's the perfect vehicle for the still new yet popular venue of the graphic novel. With help from a cool or rainy afternoon and a comfortable couch, Deitch's story and art will grab you, if you let them...." Mac Daniel, Boston Globe, 11/24/2002
Review
"Deitch elaborates this basic material with the stories of subsidiary characters, weaving them so well into what is already a tapestry of flashbacks and flashforwards that the momentum of the whole never flags.
a medium of psychological realism, and his single-page compositions, unitary though made up of sequential panels, are bravura examples of the cartoonist's art." Booklist
Review
"Deitch's complex personal success-and-failure-cycle fables are somewhat similar to the gritty city stories of comics pioneer Will Eisner, but his illustration style and his wild, crowded imagery are straight out of the Fleischer brothers' bizarre, psychedelic Betty Boop cartoons. The combination fleshes out a vivid, rich story whose many carefully crafted layers cloak reality under fantasy
The Onion, October 30, 2002
Review
"Boulevard" mixes such potboiler elements as murder, sex and betrayal with such themes as the nature of reality, the mystery of inspiration, the exploitation of pop culture and the redemptive power of art...." TIME, 9/27/02
Synopsis
Kim Deitch began doing comic strips for
The East Village Other in 1967. In 1969 he became the editor of
Gothic Blimp Works, an underground comics tabloid. Since then, his work has appeared in
RAW, Pictopia, Zero Zero, Nickelodeon Magazine, Details, and
Little Lit. He lives in New York City.
From the Hardcover edition.