Blood of the virgin / Sammy Harkham.
Material type:
TextSeries: The Pantheon graphic libraryPublisher: New York, NY : Pantheon Books, [2023]Copyright date: ©2023Edition: First American editionDescription: 295 pages : chiefly illustrations (some color) ; 26 cmContent type: - text
- still image
- unmediated
- volume
- 9780593316696
- 059331669X
- Los Angeles (Calif.) -- History -- 20th century -- Comic books, strips, etc
- Immigrants -- Comic books, strips, etc
- Screenwriters -- Comic books, strips, etc
- Motion picture producers and directors -- Comic books, strips, etc
- Ambition -- Comic books, strips, etc
- Dysfunctional families -- Comic books, strips, etc
- Domestic relations -- Comic books, strips, etc
- Parenthood -- Comic books, strips, etc
- Exploitation films -- Production and direction -- Comic books, strips, etc
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book
|
Dr. James Carlson Library | Graphic Novel | HARKHAM, SAMMY | Checked out | 05/08/2024 | 33111011060718 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
"A story about storytelling...Conjures up the grindhouse movie-making scene in 1970s Los Angeles and tracks an ambitious young man's flailing attempts to build a family and a career as a film arteest in that debased world...A book with a lot of heart." -Art Spiegelman, bestselling author of MAUS
Fourteen years in the making, renowned and beloved graphic novelist Sammy Harkham finally delivers his epic story of artistic ambition, the heartbreak it can bring, and what it means to be human
YOU CAN BURN IN HELL
Set primarily in Los Angeles in 1971, Blood of the Virgin is the story of twenty‑seven‑year‑old Seymour, an Iraqi Jewish immigrant film editor who works for an exploitation film production company. Sammy Harkham brings us into the underbelly of Los Angeles during a crucial evolutionary moment in the industry from the last wheeze of the studio system to the rise of independent filmmaking.
Seymour, his wife, and their new baby struggle as he tries to make it in the movie business, writing screenplays on spec and pining for the chance to direct. When his boss buys one of his scripts for a project called Blood of the Virgin and gives Seymour the chance to direct it, what follows is a surreal, tragicomic making-of journey. As Seymour's blind ambition propels the movie, his home life grows increasingly fraught. The film's production becomes a means to spiral out into time and space, resulting in an epic graphic novel that explores the intersection of twentieth‑century America, parenthood, sex, the immigrant experience, the dawn of early Hollywood, and, shockingly, the Holocaust.
Like a cosmic kaleidoscope, Blood of the Virgin shifts and evolves with each panel, widening its context as the story unfolds, building an intricate web of dreams and heartbreak, allowing the reader to zoom in to the novel's core- the bittersweet cost of coming into one's own.
"After fourteen years in the making, renowned and beloved graphic novelist Sammy Harkham finally delivers his epic story of artistic ambition, the heartbreak that it can bring, and what it means to be human. Set in and around 1971 in Los Angeles, Blood of the Virgin follows an immigrant film editor named Seymour who is desperate to make his own movies. But without money or clout, he has no choice but to spend his days slumming it for the worst and most exploitative production company in town. When Seymour is given the chance to make a film of his own, his unbending principles and relentless drive violently clash with an industry that rewards everything but principles and drive. As Seymour's blind ambition pushes the movie along, his home life grows increasingly fraught. Blood of the Virgin uses the film's production as a means to spiral out in time and space to create an epic novel that explores the intersection of parenthood, 20th-century America, sex, the immigrant experience, and the era of grindhouse movies. Like a kaleidoscope, Blood of the Virgin shifts and evolves with each frame, allowing the reader to zoom out and see that at its core, this book is about the making of a man"-- Provided by publisher.