Lucky

Lucky and The Imposters Daughter were very different but somewhat the same. It was very important finding out the Bell is a comic artist and I suppose that contributed some what to her artistic choice. The illustrations, I found, were not as distracting as they were in ID. In ID they were loud, bright, bold and colorful. I found my eyes peeking to look ahead at the illustrations instead of focusing on the text. In Lucky, the illustrations seem to flow a little better with the text. As it was pointed out, there is a “hook”, a sort of insight into Bell’s mind, or an introduction of each panel. Each illustration compliments the text and is very much vital to the survival of the memoir as a whole. This style seemed to help very much with the “flow” of the panels. Lucky #1 had a very natural, diary like flow, almost as if it were panels to an upcoming movie. Although Bell seemed to take a more simplistic approach to her illustrations I found they some how spoke to me more or at least made me feel as if they were more vital to her story.

Perhaps it is simply because I have no one to discuss this with but to be honest, I found myself left with so many questions at the end of this read. Lucky left me feeling unfulfilled and as if there was the lingering question, “What the hell was the point of this? Finding out she has other memoirs helps to ease this pain somehow but the feeling is still nonetheless very similar to my feeling at the end of the Lord of the Rings: “Really?”... No closure, just lingering hopes for the future. Damn this! I am interested to hear everyone’s opinions about why she chose to chunk the texts as she did. I also wonder about her choice to change from 4 illustrations to 6 from Lucky #1-2. I am also left a little bothered as to why she chose not to date the rest of the “chapters” and why she didn’t provide us with the little “hook” at the top of each illustration after Lucky #1. Why?!

Finding out that she lost the notebook that held Lucky #2 assists me slightly in my search for some of these answers but the truth is they are only guesses. Did she choose not to date Lucky #2 because she couldn’t remember them and that would be dishonest (not a true memoir)? Was she just over the process by the time she got around to re-writing and illustrating #2? Did something in her life change so drastically as to change the direction she chose to go in Lucky #2 in regards to her paneling and inclusions of the “hook”? Perhaps it is the change in environment, the constant moving around, having no real “home” that contributes to this difference between Lucky #1 and #2. Did she feel she needed more stability and routine when it came to the construction of #1 because of this? Whatever caused the change between Lucky #1 and 2 I am sure that it was in no way arbitrary but either way, I need answers!

Both Lucky and The Imposters Daughter seemed to include, as Maus does, the “process” of making these graphic novels. For Maus, I suppose it is a little different because it’s a memoir about somebody else’s memoir but Speigelman does include a so-to-speak, “view under Oz’s curtain” in that he talks about the interviews and the thought process he followed when composing his father’s memoir. The same goes for ID and Lucky. Both authors make reference to the interviews, thought process, decision making, the lose of previous drafts, etc. that contribute to a somewhat surreal experience as a reader; A sort of story within a story within a story, the creator referencing the creation he created within that creation. Complicated, I know. It’s kind of like a picture recording the video camera that’s recording the lives of others as we see on the cover of Lucky. Ok, now I’ve surely confused you all, myself included.

I also noticed quite a bit of shading, blackening of various void spaces throughout a chunk of the novel. This blackening begins on page 55 and ends on page 87. Why? For me, and I may be taking this way too metaphorical, but these times in her life seems to be a little “darker” than her usual days. The selling of her book went awry, and she eventually began working under someone and doing things for them she did not find ethically moral. She seemed uncomfortable with herself and I think the panels reflect that. But again, I would be interested to hear what others have to say about this. Basically, I have lots of questions and can’t wait to hopefully get some of them answered through discussion.