![]() Contact In
addition to my professional duties as the Dean of Library and
Academic Support Services at Plymouth
State
University, I
have
researched
the history of wordless books and woodcut novels, referred to by Scott
McCloud
as "missing links" in the development of comics. In Wordless Books,
I
have narrowed my
focus on the works of Frans
Masereel, Lynd
Ward Otto Nuckel, Helena
Bochořaková-Dittrichová, William
Gropper, Milt
Gross, Myron Waldman, e.o. plauen, Istvan Szegedi, Szuts, Giacomo
Patri, and Laurence Hyde. The themes in these wordless books
show a
powerful relevance to our world today, the significance of wordless
stories, and the growing
importance of visual narratives in all cultures.
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BOOKS:
Eric Gill's Masterpieces of Wood
Engraving: Over 250 Illustrations.
Selected and Edited by
David A. Beronä. New York: Dover Publications, 2013.
Alastair.
Drawings and Illustrations. Selected and Edited by David A. Beronä. New York: Dover Publications, 2011.
Wordless
Books:The Original Graphic Novels. New York: Abrams Books, 2008.
BOOK CHAPTERS:
"Wordless Comics: The Imaginative Appeal of Peter
Kuper's The System." Critical Approaches to Comics: Theory
and Methods ed. Matthew
Smith and Randy Duncan.
Routledge, 2011.
"Pictures
Speak in Wordless Comics: An
examination
of pictorial principles in the work of Milt Gross, Hendrik Dorgathen,
Eric Drooker and Peter Kuper." The
Language of Comics: Word
& Image,
ed. Robin Varnum and
Christina
Gibbons. University Press of Mississippi, 2001.
BOOK
INTRODUCTIONS:
"Introduction"
to George Walker's Book of Hours: A Tragic
New York Novel
Told With 99 Wood Engravings.
Porcupine's Quill
Press, October, 2010.
"Introduction"
to Silent
Witnesses: Graphic Novels Without Words. Catalogue from
the
exhibit at Lincoln School of Art and Design, Lincoln University,
Lincolnshire England. May 31 - August 31, 2010.
"Introduction"
to Lynd Ward's Prelude to a Million
Years and Song Without
Words: Two
Graphic Novels.
Dover
Publication,2010.
"Introduction"
to Charles Turzak's Benjamin Franklin: A
Life in
Woodcuts. Dover
Publication,Forthcoming, 2010.
"Introduction"
to Malcolm Salaman's The
Art of
the Woodcut:
Masterworks from
the 1920s.
Dover
Publication, 2010.
"Introduction"
to World War 3 Illustrated:The Wordless Issue.
No. 39,
2009.
"Introduction"
to Frans
Masereel's The
Sun,The Idea, and Story
Without Words.
Dover
Publication, 2009.
"Introduction" to John Vassos' Phobia: An Art Deco
Masterpiece. Dover
Publication, 2009.
"Preface" to Charles
Turzak's Abraham
Lincoln: biography in woodcuts.Dover Publication, 2008.
"Introduction" to Lynd
Ward's Vertigo.
Dover
Publication, 2008.
"Introduction" to Frans Masereel's
Passionate
Journey: A Vision in Woodcuts. Dover
Publications, 2007.
"Introduction" to Laurence Hyde's Southern Cross: A Novel
of the
South Seas.
Drawn &
Quarterly, 2007.
"Introduction" to
Madman's
Drum by Lynd Ward.
Dover Publications, 2005.

ARTICLES:
"Six critical essays on graphic novels including Peter Kuper’s The System; Masashi Tanaka’s Gon; Don Freeman’s Skitzy:The Story of Floyd W. Skitzafroid;
Frans Masereel’s The Passionate
Journey; Jason’s Hey Wait;
and Ricardo Delgado’s Age of
Reptiles: Tribal Warfare, The Hunt, and The Journey in the
multi-volume set Critical
Survey of Graphic Novels. Salem Press, 2013.
"BLAB! A Visual Jouney." BLAB! Catalogue
from the exhibit
at Marianna
Kistler Beach Museum of Art,
Kansas State University, August
1-November 2, 2008.
"Sandy Walker: "Yet if they fail to express.'" The
California Printmaker: News Brief.
Spring, 2008:9. Read
article
"A
Renegade of Expression: David Wojnarowicz's
Autofiction in Comics." Image
[&] Narrative [e-journal] 22
(2008).
"Art
Hazelwood: Graphic Witness to
America" Image
and Narrative
Issue 12, 2005.
"Pumping Iron: Male Stereotypes in
Delisle's Albert et les Autres." International
Journal of
Comic Art.
6:1(Spring, 2004): 299-315.
"Wordless
Novels in
Woodcuts." Print
Quarterly 20:1
(March, 2003):
61-72.
"Worth
a
Thousand
Words." The Readers' Shelf. Library
Journal. Vol. 129 No.4 (March
1, 2004):132.
"Health Practices for Printmakers." The
California Printmaker: News
Brief.
Fall, 2003:[8].
"The Woodcut Novels of Lynd
Ward.” Matrix
: a review for printers and bibliophiles,
No. 22,
2002.
"Artists Without Authors: The
Wordless Novels of Helena Bochorakova, Babette Katz, Barabara Henry,
and Jules Remedios Faye." The
California Printmaker: The
Journal of the California Society of Printmakers.
Issue 2002.
"TCJ: Resource to the World." The
Comics Journal
No. 235 (July, 2001): 38.
"Introduction"
to
"Beyond Words 2: A
Wordless Comic Anthology." Sunburn
No. 15
(Winter, 2001): 2.
"Breaking Taboos: Sexuality in the Work
of Will Eisner and the Early Wordless Novels." International
Journal of Comic Art 1:1
(Spring/Summer, 1999): 90-103.
Note:
Article reprinted in "Will Eisner." Contemporary
Literary Criticism.
Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 237. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2007.
p. 140-145.
"An
Introduction" to "Beyond
Words: A Wordless Comic Anthology."Sunburn
No. 11
(Summer, 1999): 2-3.
"Pictorial Narratives: The Woodcut
Novels of Lynd Ward." The
Comics Journal. No.208
(November, 1998): 102-106.
"A Season of Silent Novels." The
Comics Journal. No.208
(November, 1998): 93-101.
"A Pathfinder in Pictures: The Woodcut
Novels of Lynd Ward." Antiquarian
Book Monthly (London)
23:10(November, 1996): 20-23.
"Chronicles in Black and White: The
Woodcut Novels of Masereel and Ward." Biblio:
The Magazine
for Collectors of Books, Manuscripts, and Ephemera
1:2(September-October, 1996): 38-41.
"Silent Narratives: The Woodcut Novels of Lynd
Ward." AB Bookman Weekly
96:2(July 10, 1995):
105-121.
"Picture Stories: Eric Drooker and the
Tradition of Woodcut Novels." INKS:
Cartoon and Comic Art
Studies 2:1(February, 1995):
2-11.
REVIEWS:
"Two
Stories from The Third Bear,"
by Jeff Vandermeer. August, 2010.
"In
the Studio: Visits with Contemporary Cartoonists," by
Todd Hignite. International
Journal of
Comic Art. 11:1
(Spring, 2009): 520-522
"Bill
Mauldin: A
Life Up Front," by Todd DePastino; "Willie and Joe: The World War II
Years," By Bill Mauldin and edited by Todd DePastino. International
Journal of Comic Art. 11:1
(Spring, 2009): 517-520.
"Reading Bande Dessinee: Critical Approches to
French-language Comic Strip," by Ann Miller. International
Journal of Comic Art.11:1
(Spring, 2009): 489-490.
"LitGraphic: The
World of the Graphic Novel." Norman
Rockwell
Museum, November 10, 2007-May 26, 2008. International
Journal of Comic
Art. 10:2(Fall, 2008): 808-810.
Review Essay.
"Father of Comic Strip: Rodolphe Töpffer,"
by David Kunzle and "Rodolphe Töpffer:
The Complete Comic Strips," compiled, translated, and annoted by Davdi
Kunzle. International
Journal of Comic Art. 10:1
(Spring, 2008): 559-565.
"The
Arrival," by Shaun Tan. Raintaxi.
Winter,
2007/2008. Online Edition.
"Art Out of Time," by Dan Nadel. International
Journal of
Comic Art. 9:2
(Fall, 2007): 537-539.
"Run, Bonggu, Run!," by Byun Byung-Jun. Raintaxi.
Vol. 12
(3) Fall, 2007 (No.47):43. Print Edition.
"Stop
Forgetting to Remember," by Peter Kuper.
Raintaxi.
Summer,
2007. Online Edition.
"Alternative
Comics: An Emerging Literature," by Charles Hatfield. International
Journal of Comic Art. 8:1
(Spring/Summer, 2006): 567-568.
"Baraka and Black Magic in Morocco," by Rick
Smith. The
Comics
Journal. No. 270:57.
"A Heavenly Craft: The Woodcut in Early Printed Books" edited
by Daniel De Simone. Print
Quarterly.
22:2 (June, 2005): 205-209.
"Solitude and Emptiness (Cimes
and La Digue)"
by Vincent Fortemps. The
Comics Journal.No. 268
(June/July, 2005): 54.
"Give Our Regards to the Atomsmashers! Writers on
Comics" edited by Sean Howe. International
Journal of Comic
Art. 7:1 (Spring/Summer, 2005):
559-560.
"Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth
of the Comic Book" by Gerald Jones. International
Journal of
Comic Art. 7:1 (Spring/Summer,
2005): 561-562.
"Radical Art: Printmaking and the Left in 1930s
New York" by Helen Langa. Print
Quarterly, 22:1
(March, 2005): 86-89.
"Gods' Man " by Lynd Ward. The
Comics
Journal.No. 261 (June/July,
2004): 51
"Leviathan" by Jens Harder. The
Comics
Journal. No.
262 (August/September, 2004): 72.
"Le Château:
D”Aprés F. Kafka, " by Olivier Deprez. The
Comics Journal No. 257
(December, 2003).
"Henri Van Straten. (1892 1944). Catalogue of the
graphic work. Oeuvre catalogus van de grafiek. Catalogue de l'oeuvre
gravé." Print
Quarterly. 20:3
(September, 2003) 293-297.
"The
Comics: Since 1945 by
Brian Walker. International
Journal of Comic Art.
5:2 (Fall, 2003): 450-452.
"Blackbird Not Speaking in the Dead of Night:
SSHHHH! by Jason." The Comics
Journal. No. 251:52.
"A Silent Man's Unfinished Declaration: Lynd
Ward's Last Unfinished Wordless Novel." The
Comics Journal.
No. 251:48-49.
"Blood Song: A Silent Ballad by Eric Drooker." The
Comics Journal. No. 248:39.
"Comics Culture: Analytical and Theoretical
Approaches to Comics. Edited by Anne Magnussen and Hans-Christian
Christiansen." International
Journal of Comic Art
4:1 (Winter, 2002).
"The Graphic Novel." International
Journal of Comic Art 3:2 (Fall,
2001): 332-334.
"Norwegian Mjau
Mjau:Surmounting
the Language Barrier." The
Comics Journal.
No. 233 (May, 2001):28.
"The Top 5 Lists!" The
Comics Journal.
No. 220 (February, 2000):30.
"Books of the Year. Underground Hit: Cave-In by
Brian Ralph." The Comics
Journal. No. 220
(February, 2000): 21-22.
"Discratches. Combustion: A Story Without Words by
Chris Lanier." The Comics
Journal. No.219 (January,
2000): 24.
"Sam Norkin: Drawings, Stories by Sam Norkin." INKS:
Cartoon and Comic Art Studies
3:1(February, 1996): 35-36.
EXHIBITION
CURATOR:
Critiqued the
exhibition “The Graphic Novel: An Interpretive History” by students in
the Graduate School of Museum Studies in the Art Department. Northern
Illinois University. April 17, 2012.
The Art of the
Woodcut Novel. AVA Gallery Lebanon, New Hampshire, September
9-October 7, 2011. Lamson Print Series, Plymouth State University,
October 14-December 16, 2011.
Graphic
Novels in the Purest Sense, Edwards Art Gallery, Holderness School,
New Hampshire, September 17-October 23, 2010. Gallery
Talk and Presentation.
Judge for
the 2009 Juried Print
Show, Momenta III, Two
Rivers Printmaking Studio, White
River Junction. March 31, 2009.
American
Politics 2008: A View in Prints,
September 15-November 21,
2008. Lamson Library Print Series. Opening Event, September 17.
Japanese
Manga: A Glimpse of the Classics,
September
5-October 6, 2006. Lamson
Library. Opening Event September 13 4—6 p.m.
Gallery
Talk September 20 at noon with curator David
A. Beronä,
Lamson
Library Director. New Hampshire Public Radio's
'Front Porch' program, The
Culture of Manga in the US, Aug.
30, 2006.
PAPERS:
"The Angst in Oscar Wilde's The Ballad of Reading Gaol." Illustration, Comics, and Animation Conference. Dartmouth College, April 19-21, 2013
"The Iconography of Wordless Books." Yale School of Drama. New Haven, Conneticut. November 1, 2012.
"French Wordless Comics: Creating a Language of Pictures." International French-Language Comics Conference. Miami University. Oxford, Ohio. November 2, 2012.
"Reading Pictures: The Language of Wordless Books." Bookstock, Woodstock, Vermont. July 28, 2012.
" Wordless Books: The Original Graphic Novels." University
of Northern Illinois Art Museum. April 18, 2012.
"The Art of the Woodcut Novel." New England Visual Resource Association.
Plymouth State University, New Hampshire. October 11, 2011.
"The Art of the Woodcut Novel." Fifteenth
Annual International Comic Arts Forum. Hosted by The Center for
Cartoon Studies., White River Junction, Vermont. September 29, 2011.
"Contemporary Woodcut Novels," Comic Arts Conference. San
Diego ComicCon, July 22, 2011.
"Critical Approaches to Comics," panel of
contributors to textbook edited by Matthew J. Smith and Randy Duncan. Comic Arts
Conference. San Diego ComicCon, July 22, 2011.
"The
Woodcut Novel: A Tribute to the Art of Storytelling."
Institute of Czech Literature, Academy of Sciences. Prague. April 28,
2011.
"Telling Stories Today in Woodcuts." Symposium. Comics Studies: Potentials and Perspectives.
Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic. April 26-27, 2011.
"Sharing a Common Language: Woodcut Novels and Wordless
Comics in Belgium and the United States." Symposium. Graphic Exchanges:
Comics Without Borders. April 15, 2011. University of Pennsylvania.
"Humor,
Play, and Identity in Comics: Reading Wordless Comics." Academic
Perspectives. 2010 Festival of Cartoon Art, Ohio State University,
October 14, 2010.
"Woodcut
Novels: An Old Way of Telling New Stories." New Narrative Conference:
Narrative Arts and Visual Media, University of Toronto, May 7, 2010.
"Contemporary
Woodcut Novels: Telling Stories in Pictures." College Book Art
Association Biennial Conference, University of Iowa Center for the
Book. Art,
Fact, and Artifact: The Book in
TIme and Place. January 8-10, 2009.
“Reading
Pictures,
Burning Comics: New Perspectives on the History of Graphic
Narrative.”
"Inside
Out: Self and
Society in Comic Art: Trends in Autobiography, journalism and social
critique in graphic novels." Panel Discussion with moderator Calvin
Reid and panelists Josh Neufeld, Jill Tamaki, Pornsak Pichetshote,
James Romberger, and myself. St.Mark's Church in the Bowery, New York.
Howl
Fesitval Panels. Sept. 10, 2008.
"Reading
Pictures: The Language of Wordless
Books." Panel
Discussion. Literature in English (LES) Section of the American College
and Research Libraries (ACRL). American Libraries Association
Annual Conference. Anaheim, California. Forthcoming. June 28,
2008.
"Building a Graphic Novel and Manga Collection." New
Hamphsire
Library Association Conference, Concord, New Hampshire (May 22,
2008).
"Political
Art: Timely and Timeless." Panel
discussion. University of
Rhode Island, April 6, 2006.
"Comics
and Graphic Novels: Not Just for Kids Anymore."
New Hamphsire
Library Association Conference, Manchester, New Hampshire (May 13,
2005).
"The Magic of Woodcuts in the Book Illustrations
of Frans Masereel and Olivier Deprez." Yale University Symposium and
Exhibit, The
Belgian Illustrated Book: 1918-2004,
held in Sterling
Memorial Library from February 4 through April 29, 2005.
"Wordless Novels: Early Developments in the
Graphic Novel." The Graphic Novel: A 20th
Anniversary Conference on an Emerging Literary and Artistic Medium,
University of Massachusetts/Amherst (November 13-15, 1998).
"Woodcut Novels in America."
Society
for the History of Authorship, Reading & Publishing (SHARP)
(July 18, 1996).
"Worlds Without Word Balloons." Popular
Culture Association (April 8,
1994).
HONORS:
Nominated for the prestigious 2009 Harvey Award in
the
category of Best Biographical,
Historical or Jounalistic Presentaton for
Wordless
Books.
First Place Winner at the 23rd Annual
New York Book Show in the
Special Trade/Adult Graphic Novel
category, March 24, 2009.
First chapter in Wordless Books
reprinted as "Ohne
Worte (Without Words)" in Freistil.
Verlag Hermann
Schmidt Mainz, 2009.
Dedication
by Jan Baetens in "Going
to
Heaven: A Missing Link in the History of Photonarrative?"
JNT:Journal
of Narrative Theory 31:1
(Winter 2001): 87.
Acknowledgement of my publications on the
woodcut novel in the foreword to Graphic
Storytelling and Visual Narrative
by Will
Eisner.
Publications cited in the selected
bibliography of catalogs from the 2003 exhibit at Rutgers University (Lynd
Ward's Vertigo: A Graphic Novel of the Depression)
1997
exhibit at Indiana University (The
Silent Shout: Frans
Masereel, Lynd Ward and the Novel in Woodcuts)
and the 1995
exhibit at the University of Toledo (The
Ardent Image: Book
Illustration for Adults in America, 1920-1942).
Back cover endorsements for Eriz Yakin's
The Silent City
with an introduction by Yevgeny
Yevtushenko (Kitchen Sink Press, 1995) and Chris Lanier's Combustion:
A Story Without Words (Fantagraphics
Press, 1999).