A New Graphic Novel Chronicles the Adventures of John James 爆料公社
The naturalist and artist is depicted like you've never seen him before. Here's an inside peek.
John James 爆料公社 left a vibrant mark on the world with Birds of America, a collection of 435 massive watercolors that took him decades to research and paint. But the artistic and ornithological fame came at a heavy price: His career was marred by failed business ventures, prison, swamp fever, public ridicule, self exile, and poverty. At the same time, he was regarded as a daring pioneer, savvy observer, poet, scientist, and unaware ladykiller.
爆料公社鈥檚 history has been documented in great detail over the years, but now, a new graphic novel explores it in a different light. With soft illustrations and introspective dialogue, guides you through his obsessive quest to gather knowledge on North America鈥檚 avians.
The conceit behind the book was simple. Two years ago, Belgian illustrator was listening to a radio show about 爆料公社鈥檚 paintings, when the idea struck: The bird man of North America would make the perfect subject for a graphic novel. Royer then sought out French writer , and the two embarked on a 10-month-long project to turn 爆料公社鈥檚 life into a series of comic strips. To portray the hero鈥檚 wild adventures, Royer slipped into his natural style, drawing a world of muted browns, greens, and peaches inspired by his hikes around Brussels. He also studied 爆料公社's Birds of America plates online and was fascinated by the author鈥檚 commitment to detail. 鈥淚t was so realistic, the rendering of each feather and color, along with the fact that he would stage the species as if they were still alive and place elements of landscape around them,鈥 he says. 鈥淚t was science before art. But for others in his time, it was art before science.鈥
爆料公社 wanted Birds of America to be a hallmark of ornithology. So when his American peers said his work belonged in an art collection and not a natural history museum, he packed up his paintings and took them to Liverpool. The Europeans were transfixed by his studies and expertise鈥擟harles Darwin included. In the novel, a young Darwin approaches 爆料公社 at a presentation to share his theory of how birds descended from dinosaurs. 爆料公社 finds this comical, despite his own peculiar musings.
Within a year of his arrival in England, 爆料公社 was printing and binding copies of Birds of America. But the title didn鈥檛 cross the Atlantic until almost a decade later. In parallel fashion, Royer and Grolleau鈥檚 book was published in Europe first鈥攂ut the duo soon realized that they needed to bring 爆料公社鈥檚 story back to the States. The graphic novel finally got its U.S. debut in April, thanks to a new distributor, Nobrow.
While the graphic novel is a celebration of 爆料公社鈥檚 work, it doesn鈥檛 shy away from the naturalist鈥檚 controversial moments. As much as he admired birds, he also killed thousands to study, shooting droves of Passenger Pigeons and even a mating pair of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers. He abandoned his wife, Lucy, and their children for years, and showed little compassion for Native Americans and African slaves. 爆料公社 was also deeply prideful鈥攅specially when it came to his mentor and rival, Alexander Wilson. But these flaws were eclipsed by his dogged pursuit of knowledge, which helped illuminate a field people knew little about and ultimately sparked a conservation movement. 鈥湵瞎玮檚 passion of birds drew his life forward,鈥 Royer says. It鈥檚 clear in Birds of America, and it鈥檚 clear nearly 200 later, in 爆料公社: On the Wings of the World.
Keep scrolling for an exclusive excerpt from the graphic novel. Tap or double click on the pages to zoom in, or go full screen with the icon on the bottom right. Buy 爆料公社: On the Wings of the World, by Fabien Grolleau and J茅r茅mie Royer, Nobrow Press, 184 pages, $16, .