Grauniad special

[shewhomust]

The Guardian is probably the best newspaper we have, but it has its idiosyncracies. And every now and then, a single issue provides a bumper crop. Last Wednesday (23.01.08) in the G2 supplement alone (reading backwards from the back cover):

• The quick crossword provided the clues of one puzzle and the grid of another,


• the Arts Diary not only managed to mangle a paragraph of text beyond all comprehension (right), it also headlined the resultant mess "Say What?"


• Plus an article about comics that is simultaneously so spot on and so selective in its approach that it left me gasping. Brilliantly Drawn Girls appears in the women's pages, and argues that - are we ready for this? - comics aren't just for boys any more...

Comments

[rushthatspeaks.livejournal.com]

Oddly enough, the only piece of information with which I was unfamiliar in the comics article was the news that they're making more female Smurfs.

Which is kind of awesome news, in its strange little way.

[karinmollberg.livejournal.com]

Oha, the crossword looks like something left over by Uncle Meleagre to me.
Needs lots of frivolity to do it right!

So, comics are not only for boys? Now I am shocked! What fun.
Have they ever heard of Lynda Barry et al? No. Too long ago. Am not a serious fan anymore, if I ever was serious, that is, but the tone is so condescending it makes one gasp, sort of. Or I misread the article? But I am no fan of strict "this is only for girls/boys/aliens" cupboards.
Never was.
I think, you might possibly enjoy these links, even if a lot of text is in swedish, these are the sites of some comic writers back in Sweden (old friends) and if you care to scroll their archives, you may find things that interest you and have some fun looking at, perhaps: www.davidnessle.wordpress.com and: www.kaptenstofil.net
David is a comic writer and had an article ca. March 2007 on Wonder Woman and Kapten Stofil (Captain Geezer) is the comic magazine he does together with Joakim Lindengren; John Andersson and others.
This is how I got here, in the first place, friend Civing lead me here by quoting your entry on Brian Bolland. Now that I am a fan of yours, may I ask if you do comics yourself?

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the links, I will investigate (but not when I'm supposed to be working!).

I don't make comics: I have a web site, the Shadow Gallery (http://www.shadowgallery.co.uk) for writing about comics, but I don't work on it as much as I'd like.

And if you got here by the comics connection, and I think from your own LJ that you are more of a visual artist than I am, I'll ask you the same: do you do comics yourself?

[(Anonymous)]

Oh, I must absolutely look into your Shadow Gallery and I don´t want to keep you from work (thanks for having me, by the way!), just because I do everything to avoid my packing business, here...heh.

We move on monday, tuesday AND Wednesday next week and a slow panic is growing on me, now. Why do I keep blogging and writing lots of rubbish, instead of doing what I should? Well, I was like that already in school...
Which leads on to the next answer to your question:
No, I am no visual artist, though i used to like to draw, i just love art and literature and wine and food, etc. I am the perfect dilttante at most things, I fear. I do try to write a bit (in swedish and german and it always gets too long...heh), used to be a copywriter and am now: The Dilettante Housewife.
Meaning out of jobs at the moment -heh, almost for one year, that is- but it looks as if a new one is winking at me, full of promises, soon... Am translating a bit sometimes (into german or swedish) and now for the first time into english.
But really I want to be an interior decorator!