Red Colored Elegy,
originally published in Japanese in 1970-71, portrays the sparse world
of a melancholy, disenfranchised couple, who struggle to get by and to
relate to one another. Seiichi Hayashi was inspired by both the
underground Japanese comics of the time and French New Wave cinema, the
result of which is a disorienting and achingly beautiful graphic
portrayal of love, or something like it.
Hayashi was trying to import the disjunctive innovations of French new-wave cinema to the comics page. The result is a condensed visual poetry that still feels avant-garde nearly forty years later. – Chris Lanier, for The Believer
Seiichi Hayashi’s elegant and startling images mix cartooning with keen observation to unfurl a narrative as delicate as a moth’s wing. – David Mazzucchelli, City of Glass
Hosted by store staffer Helen Chau Bradley. Refreshments will be provided and conversation will be lively - and bilingual! Come one, come all! The event is free and there is a 20% discount on Red Colored Elegy starting now!
