The Little Man (comics)
Encyclopedia
The Little Man: Short Strips 1980-1995 is a collection of short works by award-winning Canadian cartoonist
Chester Brown
, published by Drawn and Quarterly
in 1998. It collects most of Brown's non-graphic novel
short works up to that point, with the notable exception of his incomplete adaptations of the gospel
s.
The collection is especially notable for the cartoon essay My Mom was a Schizophrenic, which Cerebus creator Dave Sim
says "was the piece that originally gave Chester the taste for comic-book journalism
, the research, the annotation
s and all the headaches that go with it" in reference to the research-heavy Louis Riel
which began soon after this collection appeared.
This book also notably collects the stories Helder, Showing Helder, The Little Man and Danny's Story which, together with the graphic novels The Playboy
and I Never Liked You
make up the main portion of what is considered Brown's much-lauded autobio period. It was this group of works that was placed #38 on the prestigious Comics Journal's list of the 100 best comics of the century.
and starting Underwater
, Brown started on what's known as his autobiographical
period, in which he produced two graphic novels and a number of shorter works. The first of these was Helder which appeared in Yummy Fur #19. Helder, Showing Helder, The Little Man and Danny's Story are works from this period that are reproduced in this collection.
mini-comic in the style of a Jack Chick pamphlet. He distributed "a couple hundred" photocopies
of the eight-pager, leaving them in telephone booths and bus shelters around Toronto
. Brown calls the strip an "essay".
The strip is an anti-psychiatric tract that takes the stance that schizophrenia
is not a disease, but a way to label people "-- not by looking for signs of disease but by looking for socially unacceptable beliefs and behaviour." Brown's mother doesn't actually appear in the strip, nor is she directly talked about except briefly in the footnotes, although she appears in The Playboy
and I Never Liked You
. In I Never Liked You she passes away in the hospital.
Brown intended the strip to cover some of the ideas of R. D. Laing and Thomas Szasz
. He first encountered the ideas that would provide the basis of the strip in Szasz's Schizophrenia: The Sacred Symbol of Psychiatry, which he came across in 1990.
The strip is six pages, each laid out in a 9-panel grid, which "seems to be well suited for 'talking at the reader' stories", as it "really lets the author pack in the dialogue". It came complete with two pages of footnotes, which were expanded on in the collection.
to put together the Little Man collection. During this time, his father died, and Brown felt that he'd lost focus on Underwater and decided to put it to an end, switching to Louis Riel
.
The book originally came with a 12-page appendix, with notes on the backgrounds of each of the stories in the collection. The 2006 edition of the book added four more pages of commentary to the appendix.
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
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....
, published by Drawn and Quarterly
Drawn and Quarterly
Drawn and Quarterly is a Canadian comic book publishing company, headed by Chris Oliveros, and based in Montreal, Quebec. Its focus is on graphic novels and underground or alternative comics. Drawn and Quarterly was also the title of the company's flagship quarterly anthology during the 1990s...
in 1998. It collects most of Brown's non-graphic novel
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...
short works up to that point, with the notable exception of his incomplete adaptations of the gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
s.
The collection is especially notable for the cartoon essay My Mom was a Schizophrenic, which Cerebus creator Dave Sim
Dave Sim
David Victor Sim is an award-winning Canadian comic book writer and artist.A pioneer of self-published comics and creators' rights, Sim is best known as the creator of Cerebus the Aardvark, a comic book published from 1977 to 2004, which chronicles its main character in a 6,000-page self-contained...
says "was the piece that originally gave Chester the taste for comic-book journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
, the research, the annotation
Annotation
An annotation is a note that is made while reading any form of text. This may be as simple as underlining or highlighting passages.Annotated bibliographies give descriptions about how each source is useful to an author in constructing a paper or argument...
s and all the headaches that go with it" in reference to the research-heavy Louis Riel
Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography
Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography is a highly acclaimed comic book biography of the Métis rebel leader, Louis Riel, by Chester Brown and published by Drawn and Quarterly...
which began soon after this collection appeared.
This book also notably collects the stories Helder, Showing Helder, The Little Man and Danny's Story which, together with the graphic novels The Playboy
The Playboy: A Comic Book
The Playboy is an autobiographical graphic novel by Canadian cartoonist Chester Brown, dealing with the author's obsession with Playboy Playmates, his desire to keep his collection hidden, and how it affected his ability to relate to women into adulthood....
and I Never Liked You
I Never Liked You
I Never Liked You is an autobiographical graphic novel by Chester Brown, dealing with Brown's introversion and difficulty talking to others, especially members of the opposite sex....
make up the main portion of what is considered Brown's much-lauded autobio period. It was this group of works that was placed #38 on the prestigious Comics Journal's list of the 100 best comics of the century.
Contents
- The Toilet Paper Revolt (1980)
- City Swine (1981)
- Walrus Blubber Sandwich (1981)
- Mars (1982)
- Bob Crosby and his Electric TV (1982)
- Dirk the Gerbil (1982)
- Brad's Enlightenment (1984)
- Garbage Day (1984)
- My Old Nieghborhood (1984)
- An Authentic Inuit Folk Song (1984)
- I Live in the Bottomless Pit (1984)
- Things to Avoid Stepping On (1985)
- Help Me Dear (1985)
- The Gourmets from Planet X (1986)
- A Late Night Snack (1986)
- An American Story (1986)
- The Twin (1986)
- Back to Obedience School (1986)
- Anti-Censorship Propaganda (1988)
- The Afternoon of March the 3rd (1988)
- Helder (1989)
- Showing "Helder" (1989)
- The Little Man (1991)
- The Weird Canadian Artist (1991)
- Danny's Story (1991)
- Knock Knock (1993)
- My Mom was a Schizophrenic (1995)
Autobiographical Comics
Between finishing Ed the Happy ClownEd the Happy Clown
Ed the Happy Clown is the title character of an award-winning and influential comic book story by the Canadian cartoonist, Chester Brown. It is dark and surreal, and largely improvised, having started from a series of unrelated short comic stories that Brown soon went on to tie together...
and starting Underwater
Underwater (comics)
Underwater was an alternative comic book by award-winning Canadian cartoonist Chester Brown that was published from 1994 until 1997, when the ambitious project was abandoned unfinished by its creator....
, Brown started on what's known as his autobiographical
Autobiographical comics
Autobiographical comics are autobiography in the form of comic books or comic strips. The form first became popular in the underground comics movement and has since become more widespread...
period, in which he produced two graphic novels and a number of shorter works. The first of these was Helder which appeared in Yummy Fur #19. Helder, Showing Helder, The Little Man and Danny's Story are works from this period that are reproduced in this collection.
My Mom was a Schizophrenic
Originally appearing in Underwater #4, Brown has said he wanted to write an anti-psychiatryAnti-psychiatry
Anti-psychiatry is a configuration of groups and theoretical constructs that emerged in the 1960s, and questioned the fundamental assumptions and practices of psychiatry, such as its claim that it achieves universal, scientific objectivity. Its igniting influences were Michel Foucault, R.D. Laing,...
mini-comic in the style of a Jack Chick pamphlet. He distributed "a couple hundred" photocopies
Photocopier
A photocopier is a machine that makes paper copies of documents and other visual images quickly and cheaply. Most current photocopiers use a technology called xerography, a dry process using heat...
of the eight-pager, leaving them in telephone booths and bus shelters around Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. Brown calls the strip an "essay".
The strip is an anti-psychiatric tract that takes the stance that schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
is not a disease, but a way to label people "-- not by looking for signs of disease but by looking for socially unacceptable beliefs and behaviour." Brown's mother doesn't actually appear in the strip, nor is she directly talked about except briefly in the footnotes, although she appears in The Playboy
The Playboy: A Comic Book
The Playboy is an autobiographical graphic novel by Canadian cartoonist Chester Brown, dealing with the author's obsession with Playboy Playmates, his desire to keep his collection hidden, and how it affected his ability to relate to women into adulthood....
and I Never Liked You
I Never Liked You
I Never Liked You is an autobiographical graphic novel by Chester Brown, dealing with Brown's introversion and difficulty talking to others, especially members of the opposite sex....
. In I Never Liked You she passes away in the hospital.
Brown intended the strip to cover some of the ideas of R. D. Laing and Thomas Szasz
Thomas Szasz
Thomas Stephen Szasz is a psychiatrist and academic. Since 1990 he has been Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the State University of New York Health Science Center in Syracuse, New York. He is a well-known social critic of the moral and scientific foundations of psychiatry, and of the social...
. He first encountered the ideas that would provide the basis of the strip in Szasz's Schizophrenia: The Sacred Symbol of Psychiatry, which he came across in 1990.
The strip is six pages, each laid out in a 9-panel grid, which "seems to be well suited for 'talking at the reader' stories", as it "really lets the author pack in the dialogue". It came complete with two pages of footnotes, which were expanded on in the collection.
Publication history
In 1997, Brown took some time off of doing his series UnderwaterUnderwater (comics)
Underwater was an alternative comic book by award-winning Canadian cartoonist Chester Brown that was published from 1994 until 1997, when the ambitious project was abandoned unfinished by its creator....
to put together the Little Man collection. During this time, his father died, and Brown felt that he'd lost focus on Underwater and decided to put it to an end, switching to Louis Riel
Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography
Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography is a highly acclaimed comic book biography of the Métis rebel leader, Louis Riel, by Chester Brown and published by Drawn and Quarterly...
.
The book originally came with a 12-page appendix, with notes on the backgrounds of each of the stories in the collection. The 2006 edition of the book added four more pages of commentary to the appendix.
Award Nominations
| Awards | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Organization | Award | Result |
| 1998 | Ignatz Awards | Outstanding Graphic Novel or Collection | |
| 1999 | Harvey Award Harvey Award The Harvey Awards, named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman and founded by Gary Groth, President of the publisher Fantagraphics, are given for achievement in comic books. The Harveys were created as part of a successor to the Kirby Awards which were discontinued after 1987.The Harvey Awards are... Nominations |
Special Award for Excellence in Presentation | |
| Best Graphic Album of Previously Published Work |
Foreign editions
| Translations | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Language | Title | Publisher | Date | Translator | ISBN |
| French French language French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts... |
Le Petit Homme | Éditions Delcourt Delcourt (publisher) Delcourt is a French publishing house that specializes in comics and manga.It was founded in 1986 through the fusion of the magazines Charlie Mensuel and Pilote... (Outsider collection) |
2009-03-04 | Laurence Lemaire | |
| Korean Korean language Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing... |
똑똑 리틀맨 | Sai Comics | 2004-11 |
See also
- Yummy Fur
- Chester Brown's autobiographical comicsChester Brown's autobiographical comicsCanadian cartoonist Chester Brown attracted a lot of attention from critics and his peers in the early 1990s alternative comics world when he began writing autobiographical comics in his comic book series Yummy Fur....
- Anti-psychiatryAnti-psychiatryAnti-psychiatry is a configuration of groups and theoretical constructs that emerged in the 1960s, and questioned the fundamental assumptions and practices of psychiatry, such as its claim that it achieves universal, scientific objectivity. Its igniting influences were Michel Foucault, R.D. Laing,...
External links
- Chester Brown's catalogue page at Drawn and QuarterlyDrawn and QuarterlyDrawn and Quarterly is a Canadian comic book publishing company, headed by Chris Oliveros, and based in Montreal, Quebec. Its focus is on graphic novels and underground or alternative comics. Drawn and Quarterly was also the title of the company's flagship quarterly anthology during the 1990s...
's website - Preview (696KiBKibibyteThe kibibyte is a multiple of the unit byte for quantities of digital information. The binary prefix kibi means 1024; therefore, 1 kibibyte is . The unit symbol for the kibibyte is KiB. The unit was established by the International Electrotechnical Commission in 1999 and has been accepted for use...
) of The Little Man at Drawn and QuarterlyDrawn and QuarterlyDrawn and Quarterly is a Canadian comic book publishing company, headed by Chris Oliveros, and based in Montreal, Quebec. Its focus is on graphic novels and underground or alternative comics. Drawn and Quarterly was also the title of the company's flagship quarterly anthology during the 1990s...
's website (pages 128-134, the first 7 pages of Danny's Story)