Broken Frontier

Not many people working in comics can say they’ve helped their fellow creators become Oscar winners. Ronnie del Carmen can. The artist has had an impressive career, working primarily in animation such as Batman: The Animated Series and feature films such as Finding Nemo and Wall-E. It was his work on the early part of that film that helped the production team nab an Academy Award. Del Carmen’s next work on the screen can be seen in Pixar’s Up, for which he was the story supervisor. It’s that unique experience away from traditional sequential art that has helped make his forays into comics so distinctive.

His most productive comics work is on the self-published Paper Biscuit series of graphic novels starring Nina, who is able to walk in her dreams and in the creator’s own words is a structure to house all his "explorations in story, art and matters in between, whatever that may be."

Similar to Adhouse’s other recent release, Tiger!Tiger!Tiger! by Scott Morse, And There You Are is a playful, almost ethereal display of imagination with a meandering approach. It is as far removed from any semblance of typical story structure as you can get, and is obviously intended to be. There are no such things as character development or sub-plots. What takes their place are ruminations on the nature of fantasy and reality and some absolutely gorgeous pages. It’s no surprise del Carmen has been working for the major animation studios for the last 15 years. It’s not mind blowing art filled with hyper realism and dynamic, page busting layouts, but it sets itself apart from other works on the shelves with ease. This is the sort of book that art students should lap up and pass around at class.

With the journeyman thoughts of Craig Thompson’s Carnet de Voyage and the behind-the-scenes peek at artistry that’s given Chip Kidd a career, And There You Are is simply an enchanting and inspirational guide for anyone with creative leanings.

So what’s it all about then? Well, it’s essentially a collection of del Carmen’s journals. A best-of collection housing scribbles, thoughts and sketches of Nina, del Carmen’s protagonist in his Paper Biscuit series. It’s much more than that though, and those unfamiliar with del Carmen’s previous work (such as myself) need not be turned off. You don’t need to know anything going in. All you need is a penchant for pretty pictures and a curiosity about the creative process.

Words are few and far between, and I think that’s a wise choice on the artist’s part. Del Carmen chooses to step aside and let his art speak for itself. Occasionally he’ll mention where this pencil sketch, or that water colour piece was done, such as the beach or a café, but there’s a genuine sense that we’re given a glance at his thoughts anyway, simply by seeing his vast array of art displayed before our appreciative eyes. Sketchbooks have a real wrinkled texture about them, complete with hand written notes and curled edges. I studied art a few years ago and it makes me long for those days where a blank piece of paper meant one thing – potential.

The book is separated into sections on different media, such as on the computer, or with paint, but all contain character sketches of Nina (primarily) as well as the occasional look at texture, clothing and the odd fantastic beast. Del Carmen has created something splendid here and it’s a gentle, yet powerful reminder of the importance of dreams and how they like to introduce themselves into our waking life.