-

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Crepax' the Man From Harlem

The Jazz Age masterpiece

The Man From Harlem, by Italian master Guido Crepax, is a tribute to the Jazz Age with it's inspired music, brutal crime and deplorable racism of the time. 

Crepax had a dramatically unique style inspired by the Op Art movement of the early 60's but reminiscent of the Art Nouveau movement with it's organic, flowing lines. 

This early work from Crepax shows his strong interest in the Op Art movement of the 60's.

Here you can see some of the Op Art fashions of the mid 60's that influenced Crepax work. 
Here Crepax is using Art Nouveau architectural elements for the backgrounds. You can see a similar flowing organic sensibility in his page layouts and design work. 
Crepax is most famous for his comic erotica, like Valentina

Crepax wrote about the creation of Valentina. Translated from Italian it says, "Design a different girl. Not Dale Arden! (from Flash Gordon) Or a type with long blonde hair. Forget it! Someone like Louise Brooks with those bangs. Beautiful! Also a little like Luisa (Crepax' wife). Louise, an unanticipated coincidence. There you go. With sad eyes and serious face. Her name? Valentina! Yes, Valentina!"
One of the most striking things about Crepax work is his irregular, organic page layouts. Rather than break his pages down in a 6 panel grid pattern like many comic artists do, he would form his panels into slashing diagonals or big boxes intermixed with many tiny boxes creating a rhythm with the page layouts reminiscent of a Jazz Age composition that he was writing about.


In the Man From Harlem, Crepax starts out with a reference to Charlie Parker's Constellation and the rhythm of the song informs the staccato layouts. These jumpy page layouts also add to the punchiness of the fight scene that is masterfully depicted here. Crepax sets the time and place of the story with this Joe Louise fight who was the World Heavy Weight Champion in the late 30's or early 40's. 

You can compare the page layouts to Charlie Parker's Constellation with this YouTube video.



The Man From Harlem is about Jazz contrabassist Little Johnny Lincoln, who saves a white prostitute from a mobster who was trying to kill her.


To firmly plant the Jazz Age theme of the comic, Crepax throws in the occasional depiction of a Jazz musician playing a famous Jazz standard. There is a kinetic flow to Crepax pages. The angle of the figures and the long lower panels of the upper page add to the feeling of the girl dashing past Lincoln. The next page has the panels at a jarring angle giving us the impression that these characters are still reeling from this dramatic experience. 

Complications set in when Lincoln's mom objects to her being in the house.
Crepax' light textured coloring on top of his scratchy black ink work really add a lot of mood to his artwork. Here the light watercolor effect on the old black woman's face really brings it to life.
Lincoln, crushing on Polly, defies all his friends and relatives to try to save her from eminent death at the hands of the mob at the risk of his own life or that of his family's safety.

Lincoln and Polly eventually get romantically involved.

Lincoln ways his options in this scene where he remembers the autocracies that were committed against his race.

There is an eventual climatic confrontation between Lincoln and the mob.


Here you can see some of Crepax most dynamic work with the pairing of Jazz musicians and the dramatic scene of Lincoln being run down by gangsters. Crepax uses a mix of large and small panels all at angels with the page borders, being really fitting for an exciting action sequence. 

Though the Man From Harlem is short and doesn't give enough space to fill out the characters adequately, it really shows off Crepax strong suit which is creating stunning visual imagery and engrossing story telling. He is a master of the Sequential Arts and really doesn't get enough recognition these days. Crepax is something to behold!


6 comments:

  1. How To Recall Outlook Email in iPhone App?

    The functioning of iPhone or iOS devices is a little different from the Android versions. But when it comes to other application and software the features and settings remains the same. Let’s see the steps for recall message Outlook app iPhone. Open the app in your iPhone. Login through the password if required. Then, click on the sent folder in the email. Select the email you want to recall by double clicking on it. As you do so, a drop down menu would appear. Click on recall this message option.


    What is Facebook Code Generator Bypass?

    The Facebook code generator is a security parameter that generates a random and dynamic code needed when you log into a Facebook account. When you sign in to your Facebook account from a new device, you’ll have to enter the given code. The code is a six-digit OTP which refreshes from time to time. The code generator does not require an internet connection and works on a simple messaging service. You will find an option stating Text me a login code to bypass this, so click on that for facebook code generator bypass. Then the login code will be messaged to you, from which you can gain access to your Facebook account.

    Why is my iCloud email not working on my laptop?

    To solve your issue of iCloud email not working, you will have to follow the given solutions. Hopefully, they’ll help you resolve any problem. First, check out the Mail menu and then choose Preferences. After that, click on the Accounts tab and select your iCloud account. Then click on the Advanced tab and double-check your configuration. The port number should be configured to 993 if you wish to answer why is icloud email not working. Then choose Password as the Authorization type. Hopefully, these steps will resolve your issue.

    What could be done if Canon MX922 not printing colors correctly

    Users often witness technical issues associated with Canon MX922 not printing colors correctly. To fix all your issues, you are supposed to follow and apply few important instructions. Like, first of all, you must press the menu button and then press the setup button and then you should select maintenance and the press on OK button and then select cleaning and then press ok and then select Yes. Once you do follow and apply the steps, you would be able to resolve the issues without any fuss.

    Easy Guide for Yahoo Mail Troubleshooting

    It's conceivable that the problem stems from your browser. If you're using a desktop or laptop, check sure you're using a Yahoo-compatible browser, such as Firefox, Chrome, Safari, or Edge, and that you've updated your browser.There might be a problem with your internet connection as well. Try doing a speed test and seeing if other websites are experiencing the same issues of yahoo email troubleshooting If that's the case, try moving closer to your router or resetting it.Clearing the cache in your browser may also help. If you're using a mobile device, check sure you're running the latest version of the Yahoo Mail app.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for sharing amazing information !!!!!! Please keep up sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Appreciate providing these details, youre doing a great job with the site

    ReplyDelete
  4. Cheers! Thanks a lot for sharing this post. I love this post

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am amazed by the way you have explained things in this article.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This post went ahead and made my day. i really like this

    ReplyDelete