Vernon Grant
Encyclopedia
Vernon Ethelbert Grant (February 14, 1935 - July 23, 2006) was a cartoonist who did graphic novel
s, and is also known for his digest-sized comic book
series, The Love Rangers. Usually referred to as Vern Grant, he is often credited as the person who first introduced the visual approach and concepts of Japanese manga
into English-language cartooning.
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
, he studied for one year in Boston at the Vesper George School of Art
and then joined the Army in 1958 at the age of 23. While serving in the Army over a decade, he was an infantry officer, eventually being discharged with Captain’s rank after two Vietnam tours.
Training in Europe as a supply sergeant, he studied Japanese and French. He received airborne assault and parachute training at Officer Candidate School in Fort Benning, Georgia. In June 1966, he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for meritorious service in Japan as a deputy information officer and command information officer. In Vietnam
, on February 4, 1967, he took command in Saigon
of the First Signal Brigade’s 400-man security force, providing security for 23 Vietnam communication sites, a duty requiring frequent helicopter flights.
In Tokyo
, where Grant was a regular cartoonist for Stars and Stripes
, he developed a strong fascination with Japanese comics. He also wrote and drew for Japan's English-language newspapers, including the Mainichi Daily News
. His interest in comics was revived in the late 1960s, as he recalled:
In 1972, Grant met Betsy Reese, who was also a student at Sophia University. The following year, the couple moved to Cambridge, and they married April 28, 1978. A great-granddaughter of the pioneer Wisconsin landscape photographer H. H. Bennett
, Betsy Reese Grant is the author of The Bennett Story: The Life and Work of Henry Hamilton Bennett, published by the H.H. Bennett Studio Foundation, Inc. in 1991.
When he returned to Cambridge, he drew his line of 15 Computer Cartoons postcards, sold in the gift shop of Boston's Computer Museum
. He also created The Love Rangers, his science-fiction comic book series about a racially mixed space crew traveling the universe. Between 1977 and 1988, Grant published seven issues of The Love Rangers in a 36-page, 5½"x8½" format. Betsy Grant detailed the premise and plotline of The Love Rangers:
. He completed a total of 33 marathons, and his wife ran with him in races for years. Interviewed by Pulp, he recalled, "When we came back to America, we did a lot of running. In fact, we were running something in the neighborhood of over 3,500 miles a year for over 25 years. When I'm out running, a lot of the ideas pop into my head, and when I get a chance to sit down, I put them on paper." It was during one of his daily runs that he suffered a heart attack on July 7, 2006, injuring his head when he fell. He went into a coma and died two weeks later on July 23.
's Comic Art Collection.
In March 2007 Betsy Grant curated a month-long exhibition of his artwork for the Cambridge Public Library's Central Square
branch. When she was invited back to stage another show on April 1, 2008 at the Cambridge Library, she made The Love Rangers the central focus of the exhibition. On Cambridge Community Television, Vernon Grant was the subject of Lynette Laveau Saxe's Callalloo Express on April 14, 2008, with Saxe presenting both artwork and an extended interview with Betsy Grant.
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...
s, and is also known for his digest-sized comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series, The Love Rangers. Usually referred to as Vern Grant, he is often credited as the person who first introduced the visual approach and concepts of Japanese manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
into English-language cartooning.
Biography
As a child, Grant began earning money by drawing cartoons for birthday cards. After graduating from Rindge Technical High SchoolCambridge Rindge and Latin School
The Cambridge Rindge and Latin School is a public high school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States.The school, serving grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Cambridge Public Schools....
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, he studied for one year in Boston at the Vesper George School of Art
Vesper George Art School
The Vesper George School of Art in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, closed in 1983.For many years the school contributed to the Boston art community, training many talented artists, many of whom are still active in both commercial art and fine arts...
and then joined the Army in 1958 at the age of 23. While serving in the Army over a decade, he was an infantry officer, eventually being discharged with Captain’s rank after two Vietnam tours.
Training in Europe as a supply sergeant, he studied Japanese and French. He received airborne assault and parachute training at Officer Candidate School in Fort Benning, Georgia. In June 1966, he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for meritorious service in Japan as a deputy information officer and command information officer. In Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, on February 4, 1967, he took command in Saigon
Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City , formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam...
of the First Signal Brigade’s 400-man security force, providing security for 23 Vietnam communication sites, a duty requiring frequent helicopter flights.
In Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, where Grant was a regular cartoonist for Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes (newspaper)
Stars and Stripes is a news source that operates from inside the United States Department of Defense but is editorially separate from it. The First Amendment protection which Stars and Stripes enjoys is safeguarded by Congress to whom an independent ombudsman, who serves the readers' interests,...
, he developed a strong fascination with Japanese comics. He also wrote and drew for Japan's English-language newspapers, including the Mainichi Daily News
Mainichi Shimbun
The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by .-History:The history of the Mainichi Shimbun begins with founding of two papers during the Meiji period. The Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun was founded first, in 1872. The Mainichi claims that it is the oldest existing Japanese daily newspaper...
. His interest in comics was revived in the late 1960s, as he recalled:
H. H. Bennett
Henry Hamilton Bennett was a photographer famous for his pictures of the Dells of the Wisconsin River and surrounding region taken between 1865 and 1908. The popularity of his photographs helped turn the city of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin into a major tourist destination.-Early life:H. H...
, Betsy Reese Grant is the author of The Bennett Story: The Life and Work of Henry Hamilton Bennett, published by the H.H. Bennett Studio Foundation, Inc. in 1991.
Graphic novels and The Love Rangers
During the years he lived in Japan, Grant wrote and drew several graphic novels, including the two-volume military satire, Point-Man Palmer and A Monster is Loose in Tokyo (Tuttle, 1972) about the life of a foreigner in Japan.When he returned to Cambridge, he drew his line of 15 Computer Cartoons postcards, sold in the gift shop of Boston's Computer Museum
The Computer Museum, Boston
The Computer Museum was a Boston, Massachusetts museum that opened in 1979 and operated in three different locations until 1999. It was once referred to as TCM and is sometimes called the Boston Computer Museum....
. He also created The Love Rangers, his science-fiction comic book series about a racially mixed space crew traveling the universe. Between 1977 and 1988, Grant published seven issues of The Love Rangers in a 36-page, 5½"x8½" format. Betsy Grant detailed the premise and plotline of The Love Rangers:
- The series follows the lives and adventures of a number of officers, robots and members of a squad of genetically engineered Love Rangers that live on the spaceship called “Home”. It is an immense structure, housing 35,000 individuals on its seven levels. While some of the action in the stories takes place on board, many of the episodes in his comic books take place on planets they visit... The crew is racially mixed, and the ship is commanded by a male and female Shipmaster who shares equally in all responsibilities. One of the dominant characters is Princess Tomi, who single-handedly leads her Mice People in their battle against the Owls for survival. There are robots and devices in the ship that Vernon created, a few of which were not developed for the U.S. military until some ten to 15 years later after Vernon had already incorporated them into this series. According to Vernon, “Their mission and that of their great spaceship is to effect peaceful changes in critical situations through the use of Love.” The fuel that powers the ship is feelings of discord and hate that emanate from different parts of the universe. At times the Love Rangers have to use weapons to control the warring inhabitants of the different planets they visit, but they attempt to first use their “love gas” to change the path of history. In the first book, the love gas helps change the consciousness of Count Ratalus from having a killing drive to flooding his mind with an understanding of history as well as nature’s instinctive patterns. When this happens, a “well of human compassion overrides his coded savagery.” He stops himself from killing Prince Tug, and they go off to work together peacefully for the betterment of the mice people and toward peaceful co-existence with their enemies, the Owls.
Marathon man
As a marathon runner, Grant was a familiar figure in the annual Boston MarathonBoston Marathon
The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon hosted by the U.S. city of Boston, Massachusetts, on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897 and inspired by the success of the first modern-day marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics, the Boston Marathon is the world's oldest...
. He completed a total of 33 marathons, and his wife ran with him in races for years. Interviewed by Pulp, he recalled, "When we came back to America, we did a lot of running. In fact, we were running something in the neighborhood of over 3,500 miles a year for over 25 years. When I'm out running, a lot of the ideas pop into my head, and when I get a chance to sit down, I put them on paper." It was during one of his daily runs that he suffered a heart attack on July 7, 2006, injuring his head when he fell. He went into a coma and died two weeks later on July 23.
Exhibitions and collections
Grant's work is included in Michigan State UniversityMichigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
's Comic Art Collection.
In March 2007 Betsy Grant curated a month-long exhibition of his artwork for the Cambridge Public Library's Central Square
Central Square (Cambridge)
Central Square is an area in Cambridge, Massachusetts centered on the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Prospect Street and Western Avenue. , formed by the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Columbia Street, Sidney Street and Main Street, is also considered a part of the Central Square area...
branch. When she was invited back to stage another show on April 1, 2008 at the Cambridge Library, she made The Love Rangers the central focus of the exhibition. On Cambridge Community Television, Vernon Grant was the subject of Lynette Laveau Saxe's Callalloo Express on April 14, 2008, with Saxe presenting both artwork and an extended interview with Betsy Grant.
See also
Sources
- Grant, Vernon. "Samurai Superstrips", pages 91–94. The Comics Journal 94, October 1984. Originally published as three-issues series in Mainichi Daily News, 1972.
- Noreascon Four Artist List: Vernon Grant, August 11, 2004.
- Who's Who of American Comic Books: 1928-1999: Vern Grant