At 8.3" wide, 6.7" tall and 1.5" thick, it is shaped like no other graphic novel. One of the most significant aspects of Jimmy Corrigan is the book's physical construction. The main story line always re-emerges from the parallel plots, however, and eventually climaxes with the death of Jimmy's father shortly after his and Jimmy's initial meeting, which is ultimately just as unfulfilling for Jimmy as the rest of his life has been to date.
The plot of Jimmy Corrigan is not linear, and frequently jumps back and forth between present, past, and dream/fantasy sequences filled with visual symbolism.
Running parallel to this plot line is a secondary story revolving around the the childhood of Jimmy's grandfather, and the abuses he suffered at the hands of Jimmy's great-grandfather in and around the time of the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. Along the way, readers are treated to a look at Jimmy's present day existence of isolation, domination by his needy and overbearing mother, rejection by any and all objects of his affection, daydreaming fantasy life involving his Smartest Kid on Earth alter-ego, and flashbacks of his lonely childhood. The main plot of Jimmy Corrigan revolves around the journey of Jimmy, an awkward, lonely, cubicle-bound wage slave from Chicago, to the first and only meeting with the father he never knew in Michigan over the course of Thanksgiving Weekend when he 36 years old.
The drawing style is simple but filled with visual symbolism, and the book's sense of time and page/panel closure is challenging and complex. It explores the themes of isolation, child abuse, the instability of family relationships, and loneliness through parallel plot lines that include Jimmy's present day existence, his childhood, his fantasy life, and the life of his father and grandfather. Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth is an award winning graphic novel that tells the story of its main character, quintessential everyman Jimmy Corrigan, in much the same way as a modernist novel would. Original Date(s) of Publication: Serialized in Acme Novelty Library from 1995-2000 and published as a graphic novel in 2000.
0 kommentar(er)
