The Big Interview Paul Gravett Comics fight corru hether youd consider the comic book as having come of age when people started calling lengthier ones graphic novels, or at some specific point thereafter (see box, below), the days when the term suggested nothing more than Lycra-clad crimefighters are hopefully long gone. Comics are engaging, interactive, accessible and sophisticated, says Paul Gravett, director of Londons Comica festival and editor of politically- charged new anthology Ctrl.Alt.Shift Unmasks Corruption. You have to be alert. Sometimes what you read is also what you see but, equally, you can spot the contrasts, counterpoints or total contradictions between the text and image. Theres a real power in drawings to encapsulate ideas and psychological states, to show you what may not exist in any video or photos and especially to deal with the fine line between reality and fantasy or nightmare. Unmasks Corruption is a powerful entry into a new medium for Ctrl.Alt. Shift. The theme is corruption, political and personal, a broad launch pad for a punchy 24 stories in 100 pages. Inside, artists and writers offer visceral renderings of, for the most part, real-life events that no photographer or camera crew could ever have documented lucidly or safely. So we have the likes of The Ayatollahs Son, in which Pat Mills and Lee OConnor team up for a stark account of the chaos that ensued after the recent Iranian elections; Benjamin Dickson and Warren Pleece W offer Not One Minute Of Silence, a sorrowful spotlight on the Columbian polices callous execution of student Johnny Silva Aranguren; and Limbo, a truly horrific account of the Chinese governments failure to deal with the countrys Aids crisis, drawn by Dave McKean and penned by an anonymous author. T here is a worry that despite some potshots at the West and the first- hand testimony involved, Unmasks Corruption may come across as a group of Western artists sniping at predominantly developing world and Middle Eastern targets. Naturally Gravett refutes this, with particular reference to Judge Dredd scribe Millss script. Pat worked closely with an Iranian informant who gave him exceptional access to what is happening there and its effects on ordinary people, aspects often missed or glossed over in our medias coverage. We strove for some balance and certainly expose as much corruption on our doorstep as a world away, including a special online satire of the British MPs expenses scandal by webtoonist Daniel Merlin Goodbrey. Its being serialised on Ctrl.Atl. Shifts blog. Its important to bear in mind that comics arent relentlessly grim, down-at- heel affairs. Quite aside from the satire, there are many moments of sci-fi escapism here. Most notable is Behold, King Listpin III, which furthers Ctrl.Alt. Shifts commitment to new talent by setting musician/artist Lightspeed Champions script about an alien bounty hunter to art by competition winner Luke Pearson. Comics are engaging, interactive, accessible and sophisticated Comics arent just for children as Andrzej Lukowski finds when he talks to the editor of an anthology of illustrated stories that packs a political punch Lines In The Sand: The Best Political Comics A Place To Bury Strangers In Town Tonight Theyve supported MGMT, Nine Inch Nails and The Jesus And Mary Chain tonight the Brooklyn trio headline a psychedelic set ominously loaded with shoegaze and distortion a la their new album Exploding Head. Japandroids support Tonight, Whelans, 25 Wexford Street D2, 8pm, 15. Tel: 1890 200 078. www.aplacetoburystrangers.com The Clean House Sarah Ruhls award-winning and Pulitzer Prize-nominated offbeat rom-com about two married doctors whose dirty laundry is unceremoniously aired when they hire a stand-up comedienne as their live-in maid Tonight until Nov 21, The New Theatre, 43 East Essex Street D2, 8pm, E12 to E15. Tel: (01) 670 3361. www. bluepatchproductions.com Gift Grub Gift Grub Celebrating ten years on radios Today FM, Gift Grub - the brainchild of satirist Mario Rosenstock - takes to the stage for the first time ever. Expect Mickey- taking cameos from the likes of Jose, Bertie and Cowen metro Arts & Entertainment life Book Now Rodrigo Y Gabriela Tonight until Wed, Nov 17 to 19, Vicar Street, 58-59 Thomas Street D8, 8pm, E35. Tel: 0818 719 300. www. giftgrub.ie BOOK NOW Rodrigo Y Gabriela The Mexican duo have moved back to their homeland, but are again returning to their former adoptive country for an intimate Dublin gig next month. With influences ranging from Hendrix to Paco De Lucia, Pink Floyd to Zakir 14 metrolife Monday, November 9, 2009 Maus (1972-1991): Art Spiegelman was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1992 for this two decade-long comic series. An anthropomorphised account of the Polish Jewish communitys experience of World War II, its based on the testimony of Spiegelmans father, a survivor of Auschwitz. The pitting of Nazi cats vs Jewish mice offers enough distance for the artist to work through his many complex feelings on the era and his family. Watchmen (1986-7): Alan Moores Watchmen saga was a watershed for the graphic novel, a bleak, adult dystopia laden with moral ambiguity. Though it lies within the superhero genre, the impact of its blackly satirical view on 20th-century America cant be underestimated, while artist Dave Gibbonss experiments in form did much for the idea of the graphic novel as sophisticated visual medium. Palestine (1996): Maltese American Joe Sacco travelled to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in late-1991 and the result was Palestine, a journalistic comic account of the experience. His account of day-to-day life in the troubled state is hugely affecting, characterised by a slow loss of his neutral observer stance in the face of the immense suffering caused by the Israel-Palestine conflict. Berlin: City Of Stones (1996 ongoing): A work of historical fiction, Jason Lutess depiction of a love affair playing out in the Weimar Republics declining years is an ambitious (still only two thirds complete) odyssey. An epic depiction of this fraught, complex period in history and a visual love letter to 20th-century European comics. Persepolis (2000, pictured): Marjane Satrapis wryly heartfelt autobiographical comics about her childhood in Iran which have achieved considerable crossover success, culminating in last years Academy Award-nominated film adaptation. Though controversial in some quarters for portraying Iran as a flawed society (sometimes in contrast to the West), its main success lies in humanising an often vilified and misunderstood country. The hoTTesT TickeTs in Town We have a pair of tickets to see RODRIGO Y GABRIELA Dec 2 at The Academy, 7.30pm For a chance to win, e-mail your answer to the question below to life@metroireland.ie by noon today with Hot Tickets in the subject line. With your answer please include your name, address and a number where you can be contacted between 1pm and 3pm. Strictly one entry per person; entrants must be age 18+. Q. Which Led Zeppelin song is covered on Rodrigo Y Gabrielas self-titled album? A Stairway To Heaven B Achilles Last Stand The winners of Fridays tickets to see Paloma Faith are: Laura Bradshaw & Stephen Darcy index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html