Virtual Memories Show 428:
Michael DeForge
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More
I think one of the ways art can be politically useful is by reimagining different ways of being.”
Cartoonist Michael DeForge joins the show to celebrate his amazing new graphic story collection, Heaven No Hell (Drawn & Quarterly). We get into his prolific comics career, his compulsion to jump genres, the ways we relitigate the traumas of our lives, and why he digs he self-imposed challenge of a daily comic strip (on top of his other comics and his illustration work). We get into how revolutionary politics permeates his art and how he engages in community activism, what it means to rethink our relationship to social media, why technology will always outpace his attempts at ridiculing it, and why Reading The Comments led him to explore a creative path when he was making Leaving Richard’s Valley. We also discuss the uses of absurdism & satire, how his dystopian stories have him rooting for utopian ideas, how he bullied his way into judging butter tart competitions, and more. Give it a listen! And go read Heaven No Hell and check out Birds of Maine!
“We take for granted that technology is developing in a certain way, and it’s up to us to mitigate the damage. I don’t think that’s true, and my current work is about an alternate view of technology.”
“I feel like my comics are still so far away from where I want them to be that I’m committed to continuing to focus on this medium.”
Enjoy the conversation! Then check out the archives for more great episodes!
Lots of ways to follow The Virtual Memories Show! iTunes, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TuneIn, Tumblr, and RSS!
About our Guest
Michael DeForge lives in Toronto, Ontario. His comics and illustrations have been featured in Jacobin, The New York Times, Bloomberg, The Believer, The Walrus, The New Yorker and Maisonneuve Magazine. He worked as a designer on Adventure Time for six seasons. His published books include Very Casual, A Body Beneath, Ant Colony, First Year Healthy, Dressing, Big Kids, Sticks Angelica, Folk Hero, Leaving Richard’s Valley, Familiar Face, and A Western World. His new book is Heaven No Hell.
Follow Michael on Twitter and Instagram and follow his current serial, Birds Of Maine, on Instagram.
Credits: This episode’s music is Fella by Hal Mayforth, used with permission from the artist. The conversation was recorded remotely via Zencastr. I used a Heil PR-40 Dynamic Studio Recording Microphone
