Interview: R.O. Blechman & Seth by Sean Rogers

Peter Birkemoe is co-owner of The Beguiling in Toronto. The store stocks the largest selection of alternative, underground, and avant-garde graphic bo

Born Oscar Robert Blechman in 1930, R. O. Blechman’s internationally acclaimed artwork spans decades, mediums and industries. He was one of the first contemporary cartoonists to pen a full-length graphic novel with The Juggler of Our Lady in 1953, which he published after graduating from Oberlin College. His illustrations and comics have graced magazines, anthologies and newspapers. He has created over a dozen New Yorker covers. Blechman presents Talking Lines, a graphic collection of Blechman’s trademark simple drawings, insightful of a complex world.

“The drawings of Blechman, which are minimalist, trembling, even hesitant, manage to express a universe of uncommon perfection.” Sempe

Sean Rogers writes about comics and cartooning for the Walrus. He is pursuing his Ph.D at York University, focusing on Canad

Illustrator and book designer Seth is the cartoonist behind the infrequent comic book series Palookaville. Currently, he is serializing the story “Clyde Fans,” which will appear as hardcover annuals beginning in 2010. His novels, which have been translated into eight languages, include It’s a Good Life if you Don’t Weaken, Wimbledon Green, Clyde Fans Book One and the illustrated memoir of his father, Bannock, Beans and Black Tea. In 2007, Seth serialized the story “George Sprott (1894–1975)” in the New York Times Magazine in 25 installments, and has expanded the story to now appear as a standalone book.