Wimbledon Green by "Seth"
The Story of the Greatest Comic Book Collector in the World
A review of Wimbledon Green, a wonderful graphic novel about the greatest comic book collector in the world, by Seth.
Although somewhat dismissively introduced by Seth himself as simply a sketchbook exercise where “the drawing is poor, the lettering shoddy, the page compositions and storytelling perfunctory”, Wimbledon Green is a delightfully amusing, occasionally melancholic, satire of the comic collecting fraternity.
“Seth”
Seth, the cartooning identity of Gregory Gallant, is a comic book writer and artist who has been instrumental in the growth of non-genre alternative comics. His first series, Palookaville, started as a low-key portrayal of the artist’s daily life and, although that series eventually moved on to more ambitious storylines, it set the semi-autobiographical tone that can be found in all of Seth’s work.
Taking a break from more ambitious projects such as It’s a Good Life, If You Don’t Weaken and his regular series, Clyde Fans, Seth has taken inspiration from the work of other noted cartoonists such as Chris Ware and Dan Clowes and, in Wimbledon Green, has set about telling a detailed and involved story through a series of shorter, unconnected strips.
The Genius of Wimbledon Green
Ostensibly, this book is an investigation of the life and work of Wimbledon Green, a comically rotund mystery man with a snappy dress sense who emerged, seemingly from nowhere, to become a leading light in Canada’s comic collecting scene.
Despite his wealth and expert knowledge of comics lore, very little is actually known about Green and so Seth teases out a picture of this larger than life character through the recollections of fellow collectors, competitors and various other bystanders whose lives intersected with Wimbledon Green. Although no one is able to provide a conclusive answer, speculation centres around a slovenly, small-time, collector named Don Green who stumbled upon an incredibly valuable comic collection and then promptly disappeared. Some years later, Wimbledon Green, a new collector of noticeably similar age and appearance but vastly different wealth and sophistication, arrives on the scene.
Wimbledon Green is no simple character sketch though, as Seth goes on to illustrate the key events in the Green legend – the discovery of the Wilber Webb collection and the hunt for the mythical Green Ghost #1 – and expose the mad, bad and surprisingly action-packed world of hardcore comic collectors.
The Joy of Collecting
Although fairly short, Wimbledon Green is an enthralling story. Seth has once again managed to tread the fine line between comedy and melancholy to deliver an emotional story about a lonely man who endures madcap adventures in order to pursue his only passion, collecting. Perhaps importantly, despite their heavily accentuated oddness, the uber-collectors portrayed in Wimbledon Green are really quite charming and so very familiar to anyone with even a passing interest in the world of comic collectors.
As readers of his previous books would expect, Seth’s artwork in Wimbledon Green is beautiful, deceptively simplistic and wonderfully expressive. The use of a colour palette limited to gold, silver and bronze helps the panels to remain clean and crisp while also adding to the delightfully nostalgic feel of the book.
Despite his own reservations, Wimbledon Green is yet another masterpiece of a graphic novel from Seth.
Wimbledon Green by “Seth”
ISBN 978-0224079198 Jonathan Cape £14.99 pp128
