As grand as these ideasborn of booze and smoke may be, they are often left behind on the barroomfloor, never to see the light of day. In the case of a group of Las Vegas artists whowould meet at a bar every Friday for drinks, they bucked the trend anddelivered Drunk, a relevant andinsightful 128-page self-published graphic novel that illustrates alcohol’sinfluence on our culture, for better or for worse.
Michael Ogilvie andco-producers Sean Russell and Michael Todoran saw the stories they shared withtheir friends as creative material worthy of the comic medium. It was acollaboration that didn’t require much artistic compromise, because each of the25 artists they invited to take part in the project (including themselves) wastasked with writing and drawing his or her bar story.
“Most of the artists arevisually very, very strong and talented,” Ogilvie says. “Even if their work wastotally abstract, if the visual strength of the narrative was successful, weprinted it.”
Drunkis, decidedly, a mixed bag of artistic styles and tones, from the simplifiedand exaggerated cartoon drawing style of Ivan Brunetti to the unusual, abstractfigures drawn by Chris Bauder and Sue Kay Lee. There are stories of clarity anddisarming vulnerability in this compilation, and moments that are vulgar anddark. Some of the bar tales are the stuff of fantasy and others are all tooreal, like Russell’s recollection of the time he spent tending bar at a VFWpost in Menomonie, Wis., while earning his BFA in sculpturefrom the University of Wisconsin-Stout. Each story is strong enough to bejudged on its own merit, yet all piece together perfectly.
One of the artists, JimPink, is a retired director of the graduate program in visual arts at the University of Nevada,Las Vegas andformer teacher of all but two of the contributing artists. Pink spent his youthin northern Wisconsin,where his neighbor, legendary comic artist Norman Pettingill, inspired him tomake art. The John Michael KohlerArts Centerin Sheboygan holdsa substantial collection from the hundreds of pen and ink drawings Pettingillcreated depicting life in the North Woods. The center allowed the producers of Drunk to reprint “North Woods Tavern,”“B Cn U,” “Moron Gulch,” “Saturday Nite at Louie’s” and “Hangover Bar” forinclusion in the graphic novel. Notable ties to Wisconsin aside, Drunk pulls in accomplished artists from all over the country.
The tales that unfold inDrunk illustrate how, as individuals,we conceptualize and remember the world subjectively. While our stories, andthe way we share them, can differ drastically, common threads like alcoholdisclose our shared humanity.
Until a local bookstoredecides to carry Drunk, which isprinted in black and white, and bound in a limited-edition hardcover with abright red ribbon page marker, customers can purchase it online for $25 atwww.vegasdrunk.com.
