Rusty Brown

Rusty Brown
Chris Ware, writing & art
Jonathan Cape, 2019

Chris Ware began work on Rusty Brown immediately after completing the acclaimed Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth. There are definite similarities between the two: both were partially serialised before being published in book form; both deal with frequently depressed, socially awkward characters; and both are massive collections employing lush, stylized art presented in a rectangular landscape format (with lots of tiny panels).

Set in and around Ware's hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, the narrative follows six characters (plus Ware himself as an incidental character) whose lives intersect in different ways. Much of it is set in the 1970s, with everything emanating from a single day in 1975--this serves as a framing device for the story. But it is certainly not limited to the lives of the characters on that day. It goes backwards and forwards, so we see the school children grow into adults and the adults grow elderly, as well as seeing childhood events from the adult's lives and parts of the lives of the children's parents.

Some of the most interesting material does not involve the title character at all. The sequence on his father, William Brown, includes dramatic sexual history early in his career (which partly explains his marriage to Rusty's mother), as well as a long sequence illustrating his only published writing, a science fiction story entitled "The Seeing-Eye Dogs of Mars." The final section on teacher, school administrator and banjo player Joanna Cole is the only material completely unpublished previously. It is the only part of the story that explicitly addresses race relations (Cole is black, in an otherwise nearly all-white cast). And while Cole does not have a completely happy life, it is full, and presented with real sympathy for her struggles. When the daughter she gave up for adoption (and has been trying to find through research, although that was not clear before) appears, it is a positive ending to a book that is marked by very little joy.

Ware's artwork is remarkable as always. His references to early twentieth-century cartooning and graphic design are rich and deep, extending far beyond mere stylistic quotation. In the course of the story he sometimes evokes design schematics, pointillism, and graphic lettering, among other things. The narrative is dark: these are characters who do not necessarily acquire wisdom as they age, and bad things happen to good people (sometimes to bad people, too, but Ware's characters are not black and white). Reading this book is an experience like few others. Like it or not, it is a powerful demonstration of the graphic novel format.

There is an excellent interview with Ware about the book, including some art process illustrations here.

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