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Skim (graphic novel)
Encyclopedia
Skim is a Canadian graphic novel
written by Mariko Tamaki and drawn by Jillian Tamaki. Set in 1993, in a Toronto Catholic girls high school, it is about an outsider girl called Skim.
has called it "the most sophisticated and sensitive North American graphic novel debut of the year." Killett says that it manages to avoid the usual cliches of a coming of age story. The Toronto Star has compared the story to Dead Poets Society
and Heathers
. Skim has been recommended by the CCBC
, and they say that Skim's struggles have universal qualities.
The Metro News praised that the narrative voice sounds authentic.
Skim has been nominated for the Young Adult Library Services Association
's 2009 Great Graphic Novels for Teens award. Skim has won the 2008 Outstanding Graphic Novel Ignatz Award.
Skim was a finalist for the 2008 Governor General's Awards
in the children's literature category. The Canada Council for the Arts, the award program's administrator, faced some criticism around the fact that the nomination was credited to Mariko Tamaki, who wrote the graphic novel's text, but not to her cousin and co-creator Jillian Tamaki, who drew the illustrations. Jillian later said she was "extremely disappointed" that she had not been included in the nomination.
Two prominent Canadian graphic novelists, Seth
and Chester Brown
, circulated an open letter to the Canada Council asking them to revise the nomination, arguing that unlike a more traditional illustrated book, a graphic novel's text and illustration are inseparable parts of the work's narrative, and that both women should accordingly be credited as equal co-authors. Their letter was also endorsed by other prominent Canadian and American graphic novelists, including Lynda Barry
, Dan Clowes, Art Spiegelman
, Chris Ware
and Julie Doucet
, as well as by Chris Oliveros of Canadian comic and graphic novel publisher Drawn & Quarterly and Peter Birkemore of Toronto comic store The Beguiling.
Melanie Rutledge, a spokesperson for the Canada Council, responded that it was too late to revise the nominations for the 2008 awards, but that the council would take the feedback into account in the future.
Later, both Jillian and Mariko Tamaki applied for and received grants from the Canada Council for the Arts to launch Skim in Spain.
Skim was nominated in four categories in the Eisner Awards 2009, and has won Best Book at the 2009 Doug Wright Awards.
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
written by Mariko Tamaki and drawn by Jillian Tamaki. Set in 1993, in a Toronto Catholic girls high school, it is about an outsider girl called Skim.
Plot
Skim is a "not-slim" student at an all-girls catholic school. She is known as a goth, and practices Wicca. When popular girl Katie Matthews gets dumped by her athlete boyfriend, who days later kills himself, the entire school goes into mourning overdrive. With the school counselors breathing down her neck and the popular clique (including Katie's best friend Julie Peters) forming a new club in its wake, Skim finds herself in the crosshairs, deepening her "depression". And if things cannot get more complicated, Skim starts to fall for an equally quirky teacher.Characters
- Kimberly Keiko Cameron, aka "Skim": a WiccanWiccaWicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
, GothicGothic fashionGothic fashion is a clothing style worn by members of the Goth subculture; a dark, sometimes morbid, eroticized fashion and style of dress. Typical Gothic fashion includes dyed black hair, black lips and black clothes. Both male and female goths wear dark eyeliner and dark fingernails. Styles are...
, Japanese-Canadian schoolgirl. - Lisa Soor: Skim's best friend (and fellow Wiccan), although they are beginning to drift apart.
- Ms. Archer: The school's EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and dramaDramaDrama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
teacher, also the only teacher at the school that Skim respects, although she is flaky. - Katie Matthews: a popular girl at the school, the former girlfriend of John and former best friend of Julie. She later befriends Skim, becoming closer after she defends Katie during the dance.
- John Reddear: Katie's former boyfriend. A star volleyballVolleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
player at a neighboring boy's school. After dumping Katie, he kills himself by overdosing on his mother's heart medication. He is rumored to be gayHomosexualityHomosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
. - Julie Peters: Another popular girl, Katie's best friend (at first) and founder/president of the GCL Club. Skim later confronts her for what she really is: "a know-it-all pain in the butt".
- Anna Canard: Another GCL Club member, who Lisa associates with more as the story progresses. She's a big-mouthed, boy-crazy gossip, although Katie thinks (as to Skim) that she's a big slut and has the cold sores to prove it.
Development
Skim was originally thought of as a "gothic Lolita story", and what eventually became part I of the story was run as a 30 page preview in an indie magazine. Mariko Tamaki wrote the story much like a play's script, and Jillian Tamaki illustrated the novel as she saw fit.Reception
Paul GravettPaul Gravett
Paul Gravett is a London-based journalist, curator, writer and broadcaster who has worked in comics publishing and promotion for over 20 years....
has called it "the most sophisticated and sensitive North American graphic novel debut of the year." Killett says that it manages to avoid the usual cliches of a coming of age story. The Toronto Star has compared the story to Dead Poets Society
Dead Poets Society
Dead Poets Society is a 1989 American drama film directed by Peter Weir and starring Robin Williams. Set at the conservative and aristocratic Welton Academy in Vermont in 1959, it tells the story of an English teacher who inspires his students through his teaching of poetry.The script was written...
and Heathers
Heathers
Heathers is a 1989 black comedy film starring Winona Ryder, Christian Slater and Shannen Doherty. The film portrays four girls in a trend-setting clique at a fictional Ohio high school...
. Skim has been recommended by the CCBC
CCBC
CCBC may refer to:* Canadian Children's Book Centre* Canada China Business Council, an organization to promote trade between Canada and China* China Construction Bank Corporation, a very large, Beijing-based bank...
, and they say that Skim's struggles have universal qualities.
The Metro News praised that the narrative voice sounds authentic.
Skim has been nominated for the Young Adult Library Services Association
Young Adult Library Services Association
The Young Adult Library Services Association , established in 1957, is a division of the American Library Association. The mission of YALSA is to advocate, promote and strengthen service to young adults as part of the continuum of total library service, and to support those who provide service to...
's 2009 Great Graphic Novels for Teens award. Skim has won the 2008 Outstanding Graphic Novel Ignatz Award.
Skim was a finalist for the 2008 Governor General's Awards
2008 Governor General's Awards
The shortlisted nominees for the 2008 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit were announced on October 21, and winning titles were announced on November 18...
in the children's literature category. The Canada Council for the Arts, the award program's administrator, faced some criticism around the fact that the nomination was credited to Mariko Tamaki, who wrote the graphic novel's text, but not to her cousin and co-creator Jillian Tamaki, who drew the illustrations. Jillian later said she was "extremely disappointed" that she had not been included in the nomination.
Two prominent Canadian graphic novelists, Seth
Seth (cartoonist)
Seth is the pen name of Gregory Gallant , a Canadian comic book artist and writer. He is best known for comics such as Palookaville.Born in Clinton, Ontario, Seth attended the Ontario College of Art in Toronto...
and Chester Brown
Chester Brown
Chester William David Brown , is an award-winning, best-selling Canadian alternative cartoonist and, since 2008, the Libertarian Party of Canada's candidate for the riding of Trinity-Spadina in Toronto, Canada....
, circulated an open letter to the Canada Council asking them to revise the nomination, arguing that unlike a more traditional illustrated book, a graphic novel's text and illustration are inseparable parts of the work's narrative, and that both women should accordingly be credited as equal co-authors. Their letter was also endorsed by other prominent Canadian and American graphic novelists, including Lynda Barry
Lynda Barry
Lynda Barry is an American cartoonist and author. One of the most successful non-mainstream American cartoonists, Barry is perhaps best known for her weekly comic strip Ernie Pook's Comeek. Barry's cartoons often view family life from the perspective of pre-teen girls from the wrong side of the...
, Dan Clowes, Art Spiegelman
Art Spiegelman
Art Spiegelman is an American comics artist, editor, and advocate for the medium of comics, best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning comic book memoir, Maus. His works are published with his name in lowercase: art spiegelman.-Biography:Spiegelman was born in Stockholm, Sweden, to Polish Jews...
, Chris Ware
Chris Ware
Franklin Christenson Ware , is an American comic book artist and cartoonist, widely known for his Acme Novelty Library series and the graphic novel Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, he resides in the Chicago area, Illinois...
and Julie Doucet
Julie Doucet
Julie Doucet is a Canadian former underground cartoonist and artist, best known for her autobiographical works such as Dirty Plotte and My New York Diary...
, as well as by Chris Oliveros of Canadian comic and graphic novel publisher Drawn & Quarterly and Peter Birkemore of Toronto comic store The Beguiling.
Melanie Rutledge, a spokesperson for the Canada Council, responded that it was too late to revise the nominations for the 2008 awards, but that the council would take the feedback into account in the future.
Later, both Jillian and Mariko Tamaki applied for and received grants from the Canada Council for the Arts to launch Skim in Spain.
Skim was nominated in four categories in the Eisner Awards 2009, and has won Best Book at the 2009 Doug Wright Awards.