From the Ashes of New York...

Though I generally consider myself a pretty rational human being (though that, in itself, might be an oxymoron), much of my work as a writer and cartoonist has been reactionary. Not in the flipping-out, unconsidered manner, but rather I observe something and then my work is a reaction to that stimulus.

In recent years, memoirs have exploded. It's a confession-a-thon out there, but guess what? There are only so many variations on the themes of "I survived this illness/addiction/upbringing" before you realize the unmerry-go-round is passing the same scenery again and again, like the background in a Hanna-Barbera cartoon. That's not to say some of these yarns haven't been fascinating reads, but enough already.

Though they're more varied than ever, I've also had a growing concern with a lot of the "serious" graphic novels of late. In their desire to be taken so, humor's been largely abandoned in "comics." I've always had a tendency to make with the droll, even (especially) in tandem with the darkness. I also like genre stuff, but have noticed there seems to be an innate feeling of inadequacy (or low expectations) among many of my peers who read and publish sci-fi and horror. It's like they assume the audience consists of little more than fourteen year old boys in Slipknot t-shirts whose literary appetites extend no further than the prose equivalent of a Danzig CD cover.

Still, graphic novels can now be found easily in most mainstream booksellers and direct market comic shops now boast plenty of customers of the homogametic sex. It's a new day, America.

So, memoirs. Memoirs in prose. Memoirs in graphic form. During the run-up to the 2008 election I was filled with guarded optimism and deep-rooted pessimism. As I alternated between pondering our potential collective fate and figuring out what my next project would be, a phrase popped into my head: "speculative memoir." Why be limited, I thought, to recounting what's already happened? Granted, true depictions of actual real life aren't necessary in doing a memoir (James Frey, J.T. LeRoy and Margaret B. Jones, anyone?), but how liberating would it be to create a memoir of events yet to happen?

A number of years ago I did a roman à clef in comic form called Beg the Question. I'm proud of it, but although it was inspired by my life, it's a work of fiction. I now wanted to do a work of fiction that was, at heart, more true to my life than anything I'd done. It was unvarnished in its depiction of the way I think about and respond to things. I wanted to capture my relationship to my wife, Michele, the love of my life. But with mutants, cannibals, zombies and satirical depictions of figures from current events and our culture.

From this kernel popped From the Ashes, a six-issue miniseries starring Michele and me, set in the post-apocalyptic ruins of New York City. Think Cormac McCarthy's The Road, only funny.

Comics don't often feature married couples (especially ones that have been together for nearly two decades), unless the marriage is a setup for Lockhornsian discord. The work of R. Crumb and his wife Aline is an exception, but generally wives get the short shrift. In advertising it goes the other way. Wives are capable whizzes and husbands are floppy-limbed borderline-retarded man-children. In real life the divide isn't always so obvious.

Anyway, with female interest in comics growing daily (both in the creation and consumption of), it was especially important to me to make Michele as vital on the page as she is in real life. I consulted her throughout the process of creating the book (most evident in her pre-apocalypse workplace scenes; after all these years I still can only barely comprehend the intricacies of Michele's corporate field).

The story begins in September, 2008. I didn't want to date the story by making it too topical, so I fought the urge to get into the election cycle. Obama. McCain. Didn't want them in there. If I set my apocalypse in the lead-up to the election it didn't matter who won. I didn't want this to be an exercise in hysterical finger-pointing. I figured it would be best to start with the utter devastation of most of mankind and leave plenty of room to conjecture on the exact cause. Granted, it was eight years of Bush/Cheney that fostered this apocalyptic fantasy, but why play "the blame game?"

From the Ashes is my speculative memoir of "might yet be" (well, not really). It's an open love letter to my wife -- but not a gummy, icky, Nicholas Sparksy Harlequin Romance kind of thing. I don't want to leak spoilers, but readers of the HuffPo should take special pleasure in the messianic depiction of a certain scary TV pundit (who for satirical/legal purposes has been renamed "Rile O'Biley"), far-right religious whackos, celeb corpses, tinges of Oz (as in The Wizard of and not the HBO series). With nearly six billion dead, there's plenty of room to share my nuclear holocaust.

Issue #1 of Bob Fingerman's From the Ashes will be available in-stores on May 13, 2009 from IDW Publishing.

For further information or to buy online, please go here.

Comments

[Erin Tapken]

I too have been growing weary of memoirs. If I wanted to read 200 pages of whining and begging for sympathy then I'd dig up my high school journals and wallow in my own pathetic self-pity. Yawn. Thanks anyway. There is a certain amount of vanity needed in order to write a memoir, you have to think that someone out there, somewhere, is remotely interested in what you have to say. The problem is, I've become immune to the sharp stabbing and prodding that so many modern memoirs are trying to provoke. I can't stroke their ego with my readership anymore, because frankly, I don't care.

This lack of sympathy solicitation, among other reasons, is why I'm so looking forward to From the Ashes. Bob isn't known for self sugar-coating, and I suspect at times he's harder on himself than need be. I expect to be entertained by his self-deprecation and warmed to the cockles by his outward devotion to the lovely and beautiful Michele.

Bob deserves accolades for setting a love story amid the apocalypse and I hope that From the Ashes is a success across many demographics.

[mrapollo]

Looking forward to it. I like "fun" apocalypses, such as "Dr. Strangelove" and "The Bed-Sitting Room." Even Stephen King's "The Stand" is a good adventure story.

But more importantly, I like comics that are, you know, funny. Enough with the sensitive boys writing about their hurt feelings and mom and dad being mean to them. I miss the silly, anarchic spirit of 60's undergrounds. Plus, Fingerman can actually draw - his artwork doesn't look like doodles done while bored in class.

[Jared Gniewek]

This looks great. Attacking the memoir from a new angle is always welcomed. I think it's wonderful that a marriage can be reflected in a tongue in cheek "us against the word" way while staying (hopefully) true to feeling. There goes next weeks lunch money!

[VoteJoe]

I like the sense of optimism in a good apocalypse story. All the wrongs of the past are gone. Tabula rasa. Nothing to do but start the whole thing anew and hope you can get it somewhat right.

[Douglas Arthur]

I've been a fan since White Like She, and Minimum Wage, both of which are brilliant! Can't wait to read the new book! You make some great points about the state of current graphic novels, too. There are only so many true-to-life stories from war-torn countries and "disease of the week" stories I can take. Sometimes I feel like it has become like the Lifetime network. I think there needs to be more stuff like your work and Kyle Baker's Cowboy Wally Show. Duty now, Mr. Fingerman.

[n69n]

I'm looking forward to reading it!
BEG THE QUESTION was such a pleasure, so funny & thoughtful...& i bet this one's even more so!

[Fingerbo]

BTW, if anyone wants to see preview pages of the actual comic, go here http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2009/04/30/exclusive-preview-from-the-ashes-1/ and here http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2009/05/from_the_ashes.html#.