Seth, the "Self-Pitying Melancholic" We Love

Your DG editors are big fans of Seth, born Gregory Gallant*, the Canadian indie comics artist (or "graphic novelist," in the parlance of our times). In fact, we like him so much that we bought an original drawing a few years ago at a signing at Million Year Picnic in Cambridge, Mass.

Interviews with Seth are fairly rare, so we were thrilled to see this one in Bookslut, in which he discusses, among other things, his notorious nostalgia:

The modern world is very ugly… and the pop culture is so mind-numbingly dumb that you have to make a conscious effort to shut it out. That’s why I’m considered a “nostalgia guy.” I just like things from the past better. I don’t want to live in 1932, but I sure wish some of the elements of that time had survived into this time. Though obviously, their fascination with “progress” is the worm in the apple that created this shitty culture we inhabit. It’s a complicated question. And believe me, no one is more confused about his feelings about the past and the present than I am. I find, as each year passes, my understanding, and feelings about the 20th century are more muddled. The only thing I can say with real certainty is: The mass culture of our current age makes me feel like I need a shower.

If you dig Seth, a catalog of his work is here. We recommend as a starter the graphic novel It's a Good Life if You Don't Weaken or, for the serious fan, Vernacular Drawings (better described at Amazon.com).

Other great Drawn and Quarterly artists we love include Chester Brown, Chris Ware, Julie Doucet, Joe Matt, Adrian Tomine, and R. Crumb (hey, that's two references in one day).

*Coolest name in the world for a comic book artist.