Jeff Lemire's Essex County picking up steam
By H.G. Watson
Lance Writer
February 15, 2011
Winter in Essex County is a long one. Flat stretches of land covered in several feet of snow only serve to reinforce the feeling of solitude that is so overwhelmingly present in rural Canada.
Jeff Lemire, a Canadian artist and writer, captures this feeling in his Canada Reads nominated graphic novel Essex County. It’s a landscape he knows well—he grew up in the same farmlands where his graphic novel takes place.
“The characters and plot are for the most part fictional,” explained Lemire. But Windsor-Essex residents will recognize familiar locales in the novel and may find themselves in the characters that populate Lemire’s world.
The lives of an orphan who finds solace in pretending to be a superhero, an ex-hockey player withering away in his farmhouse, and a rural home-care nurse intertwine in the three volume graphic novel as they remember their pasts and try to come to terms with an uncertain future.
Lemire found himself most drawn toward Lou Lebeuf, featured prominently in book two of the series, a senior citizen dwelling on his past as he tries to retain his autonomy. “He lived a full life [over the course of book two] and I really got attached to him.”
Essex County’s success did not come overnight. “It did very well in the U.S. with comics fans over the last two or three years, but never really caught on here in Canada,” Lemire said. But after garnering several awards, including a Joe Shuster award for outstanding Canadian Artist, Essex County found itself emerging into the Canadian literary scene. This was cemented with a nomination to Canada Reads 2011, the CBC’s annual literary competition.
Lemire’s novel was defended by Sara Quinn of Tegan & Sarah fame, and although it was knocked out of the competition on Feb. 7, 2011, Canada Reads brought Essex County into the spotlight.
“I’m happy that Canada Reads helped it find a mainstream Canadian audience,” he said, noting that making it to the top five of the competition was an accomplishment in itself.
Though he has no professional training to his name, Lemire demonstrates considerable artistic skill. Essex County is unique in its ability to turn the bleak landscape around Windsor into an engaging and beautiful setting. “I grew up loving superhero artists like George Perez and Keith Giffen,” said Lemire, “but as I matured as an artist I became influenced by artists like Dave McKean, Jose Munoz, Alberto Breccia, Lorenzo Mattoti and storytellers like Seth, Alan Moore, Dan Clowes, Chris Ware.” These influences come out in his work, which references popular superheroes but also approaches its subjects with emotional depth and maturity.
Since the publication of Essex County Lemire has enjoyed more professional success with DC Comics. He is currently writing and drawing Sweet Tooth, a story set in a dystopian future where humans are being wiped out by a mysterious plague with the exception of strange human-animal hybrids who may be immune. Like his young superhero-loving protagonist of book one of Essex County, Sweet Tooth’s lead character Gus (a human-deer hybrid) struggles with a lonely existence and finds himself questioning his own origins.
Lemire is also writing a staple of the DC roster of comics: Superboy. “It’s a blast to write superheroes. It’s a really fun and exciting experience and a nice balance from my more personal work that helps keep everything fresh for me.”
From Essex County to Krypton, Lemire continues to bring fresh, innovative work to the comics world. Essex County, Sweet Tooth, and Superboy are available at Rogues Gallery Comic Book shop at 327 Chatham St. W. |
