Too Cool to be Dissed
Too Cool to be Forgotten is the latest graphic novel from Alex Robinson, a creator who is one of the most exciting graphic novelists in the market today. I’m a big fan, having read Box Office Poison and Tricked several times over. Too Cool, while not up to the level of his previous work, is nevertheless a satisfying drama with just enough funny to keep it from getting too heavy.
But on the last page, Top Shelf adds a note that is either a joke in poor taste, or an extremely unprofessional show of disrespect to the author, and it’s got me pretty angry.
Too Cool follows Andrew Wicks, a 40-year-old father of two who has been smoking since high school. He’s tried everything he can think of to quit, but without success. With no options left to him, on the advice of his wife he agrees to undergo hypnotherapy to remove his cravings. His eyes close as he slips into a trance state… and then he wakes up, and it’s 1985. He’s a teenager again, back in his old high school, reliving the events that led to his addiction.
Robinson has a knack for dialogue that shines in all of his work, and Too Cool is no exception. His characters are expressive and distinctive, and he keeps just enough dynamism to keep it interesting in a book that consists of pages and pages of dialogue and inner monologue. I recommend this book highly, especially if you found the size of Robinson’s previous works (Box Office Poison weighs in at 608 dense pages) daunting. There’s a surface story here, but also a deeper one that Robinson sets up nicely, delivering a deeply satisfying conclusion.
Okay - now here’s why I’m angry. After reading this book, I kept on reading the last few pages, and I’m going to recommend that you not do this. The reason is a note from Top
Shelf on the final page that reads as follows:
“Page 84 includes an error in which [deleted to remove spolier]. This will not be corrected in future editions, as it was intentional on the part of Mr. Robinson. The publishers and proofreaders wish to note their opposition to including such grammatically awkward and painfully heavy handed foreshadowing, but have let the issue rest out of respect for the author. We apologize if the author’s stubborn refusal to listen to reason, demands or threats at all diminished your enjoyment of another otherwise entertaining Top Shelf product.”
This is really upsetting to read. If it’s a joke, it’s a bad one that damages the emotional punch that the end of the book delivers. And if it’s a serious note, it’s incredibly disrespectful of Alex Robinson. Clearly, Robinson felt that it was a valid piece of foreshadowing, and I would agree with him wholeheartedly. It’s of a kind with the other bits of foreshadowing that lead to the climax. But if the publisher doesn’t agree, they really have only two choices - publish it as is, or don’t. Taking the time to tell the audience that they disagreed with the author’s choice is unprofessional and rude, and both the book and the author deserved better.
Read Too Cool to be Forgotten, but skip the final copyright page if you can.
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Comments
Man, that's a weird note. Although now I'm dying to pick up the book. It'd be interesting to find out what Robinson feels about it.
Top Shelf really does put amazing stuff. One of my favorite graphic novels of all time is Top Shelf's "Good-bye Chunky Rice" by Craig Thompson.
Hi Dallas,
Leigh from Top Shelf here. I'm glad you enjoyed the book, and sorry you were upset by the last-page addendum. To clarify the situation, Alex wrote that paragraph himself (and of his own free will!). It's based on a real situation in which a couple of the Top Shelf guys wanted the thing changed, but Alex believed strongly that it should stay, so the compromise was to leave it in with a note admitting its presence. But the ironic tone and over-the-top phrasing of the note was entirely Alex's creation. Unfortunately, it seems in your case that his self-deprecating sense of humor (observable in interviews and throughout his work, including TOO COOL) didn't carry through. Everybody at Top Shelf has the utmost respect for Alex and his (frankly magisterial) work, and none of us would ever say anything like this in earnest.
Again, apologies for the misunderstanding.
Dallas, I agree with you here. I've certainly had disagreements with authors while we were working together on books (See Elizabeth Bear's description of the editorial process - "Pick the hills you're going to die on. Be assured your editor is doing the same. Hope they're not the same hills.") but I never would have spoken about them in public, or reprinted the author doing so.
Even if Mr. Robinson wrote that addendum himself, it is disrespectful to the reader to include it; if you're going to break the literary fourth wall, do it to give the reader a glimpse of some neat thing that happened during the process, not to make a show of editorial infighting.
Leigh,
Thank you so much for taking the time to explain the situation. I am very pleased to hear that this note was not included in a spiteful way as I regrettably assumed. Still, I find the note jarring and it robs the last pages of the book of some of their emotional impact. I wish that Top Shelf and Mr. Robinson had not included it, but I'll continue to recommend the book. It's really an excellent book from an amazing creator, who I wish wasn't quite as self-deprecating as you indicate.
Dallas
Further follow-up on Alex's livejournal: http://alexbot3000.livejournal.com/93512.html