{"id":1758,"date":"2009-08-09T00:01:47","date_gmt":"2009-08-09T06:01:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1758"},"modified":"2009-08-09T10:17:20","modified_gmt":"2009-08-09T16:17:20","slug":"7-imps-7-kicks-127-featuring-dave-mckean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1758","title":{"rendered":"7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #127: Featuring Dave McKean"},"content":{"rendered":"

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“You hear music? \/ Dancers too? \/ I can hear them. \/ Well, can you? \/
They play tunes \/ Beyond compare, \/ Dancing through my crazy hair.”<\/em>
(Click to enlarge spread — and all others in this post.)<\/center><\/p>\n

Jules:<\/strong><\/font> You want to know what I’ve noticed lately here at 7-Imp? I’ve noticed that I’ve been posting quite a bit of art from illustrators or author\/illustrators whom I’ve already interviewed or in some way featured previously. Robert Neubecker<\/strong><\/a>. Adam Rex<\/strong><\/a>. Grace Lin<\/strong><\/a>. Jeremy Tankard<\/strong><\/a>. Ed Young<\/strong><\/a>. Dan Santat<\/strong><\/a>. Jarrett J. Krosoczka<\/strong><\/a>. Whew. The list goes on. I wouldn’t feature them in the first place if I didn’t love their work, and I always<\/em> end my correspondence with them (on, say, interviews) by inviting them to stop by any time, since I like to keep up with what they’re doing (and since I also otherwise try to do what I can to feature new<\/em> artists). Well, Dave McKean<\/strong><\/a> is no exception. You may remember that he stopped by this year in March<\/strong><\/a> — with quite possibly the Most Art Ever in a 7-Imp Interview, as in you can just take your time in going to get yourself a cup of coffee or pipin’ hot tea while that interview LOADS. (And his art is so beloved all over the world that the 7-Imp McKean-interview gets linked to from places like this<\/strong><\/a> on a pretty consistent basis. Man, I wish I could read ’em.)<\/p>\n

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<\/a>Yeah, so here is Dave again. ‘Cause, you see, when he and Neil Gaiman<\/strong><\/a> make picture books together and invite us into their beautifully twisted worlds, it makes my heart go a-flutter. And they’ve done it again. In May of this year, they released Crazy Hair<\/strong><\/a><\/em> (HarperCollins), and I’ve got some art from it to share today. Actually, I’ve got some art I haven’t yet<\/em> shown here at 7-Imp from the book, and I also went and pulled from the Dave interview in March the two spreads he shared from the book (back when it was a sneak-peek kind of thing to be showing us). (For the record and to be sure I cover my back-side here, I got permission to show those again along with<\/em> these from today.)<\/p>\n

I’ve never really had crazy hair of my own, but with Neil and Dave’s book, I can learn to appreciate the chaos. A young girl, Bonnie, stares in wonder at a man with some pretty whacked-out hair: “Crazy hair?<\/em> \/ Oh me, oh my. \/ Crazy hair?<\/em> \/ I thought I’d die.” The man begins to tell her about his unique suffering: “Since I was two \/ My hair has grown. \/ Birds fly down \/ From everywhere \/ Nesting in my crazy hair<\/em>.” He’s not kidding about the chaos either: Gorillas leap, tigers stalk, ground sloths make themselves at home, hunters send in expeditions, and more. (Click spreads to enlarge. It’s DAVE MCKEAN. You know to not click and pore over details would be sort of a crime.)<\/p>\n

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“Huge balloons \/ Come down to land. \/ People wave. \/ It’s very grand. \/ They take off \/ From everywhere, \/ Drift across my crazy hair.”<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n

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“Twisting tangling \/ Trails and loops, \/ Treasure chests \/ And pirate sloops, \/
These await \/ The ones who <\/em>dare \/ Navigate my<\/em> crazy hair.”<\/center><\/p>\n

This is surreal, dizzying Gaiman\/McKean fun. As Publishers Weekly<\/em> put it, “{e}ven the text participates in the mayhem”: The words swing around, curl, zig-zag. The font goes wild. Normal, sane rules about text size are simply disregarded. It’s a thrill is what it is. McKean seems to be using paint, collage, lots of images of hair (naturally), and line drawings. Observant readers will revel in the details. (Pay close attention to young Bonnie’s changing shirt.) Kirkus<\/em> likens McKean’s work in this title to “Ralph Steadman<\/strong><\/a> in a Cubist phase.”<\/p>\n

When Bonnie tries to help…<\/p>\n

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“‘Here’s my comb,’ \/ Young Bonnie said. \/ ‘Run it now \/ Across your head. \/
That’s what I do \/ With great care \/ When I have such<\/em> crazy hair.'”<\/center><\/p>\n

…things don’t go quite as she planned, as in one ginormous arm reaches out to pull her into the anarchy that lives on the poor man’s scalp. Never fear. Bonnie makes the most of it, even trying to bring some order to the pandemonium: <\/p>\n

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Since poring over Dave’s art is just about as good as the coffee bean itself, I just had<\/em> to divide the above spread into two details so that you can see more closely here, though you can click on that spread to enlarge it: <\/p>\n


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Okay, three<\/em> details, because I love “losing moons”:<\/p>\n

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While we’re on the subject of hirsute unruliness, there is also Laurie Halse Anderson’s<\/strong><\/a> The Hair of Zoe Fleefenbacher Goes to School<\/strong><\/a><\/em> (Simon & Schuster, June 2009), illustrated by Ard Hoyt, which Kirkus<\/em> calls—bah-dum-ching—“a well-coiffed winner.” Zoe’s unmanageable locks also have a mind of their own (with a lower ranking on the Slightly Horrifying Scale than the Gaiman\/McKean creation), but first-grader Fleefenbacher manages to make it work in her favor in the end. Hoyt’s watercolors are warm and expressive. Fans of David Small’s<\/strong><\/a> art work will sense a similar vibe and style, and Hoyt gets to have lots of fun—as I’m sure you can imagine—with scale in this one. <\/p>\n

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(I’ve actually always been rather jealous of those with unruly hair. When it’s straight and fine, as mine is, well….the grass is always greener, huh?) <\/p>\n

As a reminder, 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks is our weekly meeting ground for taking some time to reflect on Seven(ish) Exceptionally Fabulous, Beautiful, Interesting, Hilarious, or Otherwise Positive Noteworthy Things from the past week, whether book-related or not, that happened to you. <\/p>\n

CRAZY HAIR copyright \u00a9 2009 by Neil Gaiman. Illustrations \u00a9 2009 by Dave McKean. Published by HarperCollins, New York, NY. Images reproduced by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n

* * * Jules’ kicks * * *<\/strong><\/font><\/center><\/p>\n

Eisha went to Massachusetts again to see her husband’s latest show, so she asked me to pass on a “kiss them for me<\/strong><\/a>, I may be delayed,” \u00e0 la Siouxsie and the Banshees<\/strong><\/a>, circa 1991. (Hey, I just read that Wikipedia link and did not know that about the Jayne Mansfield-ode’itude goin’ on in that song. “Ode’itude.” Yes, me has a Masturs dugree.)<\/p>\n

I’ve had a busier-than-normal week, so I actually didn’t stop and jot down kicks, as I sometimes do. But let’s see here…<\/p>\n

Well, without a doubt, kick #1<\/font> is that my five-year-old goes off to Kindergarten this week, and I’m super excited for her, though I’ll also be misty-eyed, I’m sure, and cautiously optimistic that she’ll get a good teacher. We parents get to meet the teachers first (tomorrow night), and I’ve got precisely SEVEN SKERJILLION questions for this woman about the care of my daughter’s mind, but fear not. I’ll sit quietly and let her talk. This education thing is a big leap ‘o’ faith, now isn’t it? Whew. <\/p>\n

2).<\/font> Dave McKean’s muse. <\/p>\n

3).<\/font> The Season Two episode of “30 Rock” where Kenneth gets addicted to coffee (as in, crazy-mad<\/em> addicted) and says, “It feels like my heart is hugging my brain.”<\/p>\n

I just realized I’ve typed “coffee” three times in this one post. <\/p>\n

4).<\/font> I picked up the ARC I have of Kaye Umansky’s<\/a><\/strong> Clover Twig and the Magical Cottage<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, illustrated by Johanna Wright<\/strong><\/a>. (Remember when she stopped by<\/strong><\/a>?) It’s pretty funny so far. The second chapter is entitled, “First Off, Are You Stupid?”<\/p>\n

5).<\/font> My three-year-old was trying<\/em> to give me a spontaneous compliment and tell me that she loves me, but she grabbed me, hugged me, and said, “You’re my favorite mommy that lives with us<\/em>.” Emphasis mine. My husband got all faux shifty-eyed and said, “Oh yeah. There’s that<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

6).<\/font> Sorry. This is turning into the Kids Say the Darnedest Thing Edition, which I try so hard not to do, but my five-year-old has been filling up a spiral-bound notebook all week with art and poems. Some of the poems are really<\/em> good for a five-year-old, if I may say so myself. (I’ll spare you the insufferably proud mom.) Some of them are like this: “Apples growing on a tree \/ And that is called an apple tree \/ Apple trees grow apples \/ like all apple trees \/ And that’s what an apple tree does.”<\/em> I’m not making fun of it. Promise. The redundant ones make me happy, too. Hey, you never know anyway: It could be REALLY PROFOUND, and I just don’t get it<\/em>. <\/p>\n

7).<\/font> Oh yeah. The mix CDs Eisha sent me. I think they showed up in last week’s video kicks<\/strong><\/a>, too, but they’re that<\/em> good. <\/p>\n

BONUS:<\/strong><\/font> Head on over to First Book’s “What Book Got You Hooked?” campaign<\/strong><\/a>. I submitted my entry and vote (Tennessee, of course) yesterday. Here’s what you do: Now through September 30, go to First Book’s campaign site to tell them about the first book that made reading fun for you. Then you vote for a state to receive 50,000 brand-new books for low-income youth. (The results of voting will be announced online shortly after the voting closes on September 30.) You can also go here<\/strong><\/a> to read the picks of people like Stephen Colbert. And Barry Manilow. Yes, my man, Barry. I am not even kidding. <\/p>\n

LAST BONUS:<\/strong><\/font> In tribute (thanks to my husband* for the link)… <\/p>\n

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*Best John Hughes Line Ever (from the mouth of Duckie<\/strong><\/a>): “His name is Blane? Oh! That’s a major appliance, that’s not a name!”<\/em><\/p>\n

What are YOUR<\/font> kicks this week?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“You hear music? \/ Dancers too? \/ I can hear them. \/ Well, can you? \/They play tunes \/ Beyond compare, \/ Dancing through my crazy hair.”(Click to enlarge spread — and all others in this post.) Jules: You want to know what I’ve noticed lately here at 7-Imp? I’ve noticed that I’ve been posting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-seven-good-things-before-monday","category-picture-books"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1758\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}