Broken Frontier

Famed lowlands artist Peter Pontiac’s career is finally celebrated with an extensive collection of his short stories.

I am a creative nihilist, trying to force the end!
William Levy 

The Seventies are not only the "Me" decade, the era of nuclear proliferation, bell bottoms, free love and the Vietnam war; it also represents the rise of the underground comic. Born out of the zeitgeist, underground comic s epitomized the raw emotions of a generation growing up in turbulent and groundbreaking times, where all previously earned certainties of society crumbled to be replaced by … what exactly?  

Even the moral downfall of the average citizen after WWII was less harrowing than the mental disorder in the Seventies where even the government was no longer to be trusted. It was this uncertainty that proved to be a fertile ground for the underground comic artist who threw a visual and moral looking glass mirror of society's dark undercurrents back at the reader. And if there is one thing that Peter Pontiac apprehends, it is the dark belly of the beast of Society and his own darkness.

Growing up in the Seventies in Holland, addicted to soft and hard drugs and the requisite of a paranoid love affair, Peter Pontiac produced mostly feverish autobiographic tales that seemed to penetrate reality at a higher level of inner understanding (or at least his version of a higher understanding). He displayed a pathological need for love and recognition (something that is still not entirely absent from his latest short stories), fed by his unraveling drug added psyche and, to top it all off, he illustrated it all with a terrible beauty! And a lot of sex.

Perhaps best known in the states from his early publishing in Kitchen Sink Press, Rhythm by acclaimed Dutch publisher Oog & Blik is the first ever complete collection of his short stories ranging from 1969 to the present 2011, including the two longer stories Requiem Fortissimo (with anti heroes Gaga and Gogo) and Lost in the Lowlands, a self-published mini comic. The stories are arranged chronologically, opening not only an insider's view into Pontiac’s artistic growth but also his psychological twists and turns throughout the years. His art grows from crowded psychedelic pages, beautiful in their composition and structured chaos full of generational and societal angst reflecting his drug-riddled psyche, to a more coherent line and story framing, yet staying true to his own original approach to comics. His line work emulates the best of the Seventies heavy metal artists like Gimenez, Ortiz and Alex Nîno. After some ten years even a cartoony ligne claire line starts to appear amidst the inspired later Crumb and Wallace Wood stylings leading to obvious comparisons like Ever Meulen and Joost Swarte (whose Jopo even makes a few cameos in Rhythm) though it is definitely still the punk rock version of their respective styles.

What is most stunning perhaps is the fact that it all is completely the work of one distinct voice, digging every single time into his own inner being, drawing upon his own experiences to just lay bare his soul upon the page, every weakness, failed attempt and subsequent wonder. Even in the few tales not written by Pontiac, it is all there to behold in all its self critical conjectures with just the right sprinkling of irony, humour, seriousness and social relevance. From the chaotic stylings of his early period to the Wallace Wood inspired comics of the early Eighties to the more cartoony line of his late Eighties Gaga comics to his graphical layouts of the last years, it is hard to pick a favourite. 

Rhythm, the short story collection of Peter Pontiac, gives us the explicit joy of seeing an artist grow into his craft while at the same time making you step into his life for a few moments. Behind a beautiful cover and an exquisitely designed interior, Rhythm shelters a wealth of comics to be explored reflective of both author and the spirit of the times and comes highly recommended for any lover of the art form.

Rhythm by Peter Pontiac is published in Dutch by Oog & Blik. It is a 368 pages hardcover retailing for €49,90.

Unfortunately I couldn't find any examples online of the illustrations and cd sleeves Pontiac illustrated but as an extra, here is a colour illustration by Pontiac that is not included in Rhythm.