Generally speaking, Ohio sucks for artsy stuff. Every once in a while, though, we get something good. This would be one of those times.

From May 10^th through August 3^rd, The Ohio State University Wexner Center for the Arts will be hosting a major exhibition of Jeff Smith’s work AND work that influenced Smith. The exhibition kicks off Saturday with an interview with Smith and Scott McCloud.

Oh yes. It is awesome. (Alex, Joe, the rest of y’all, quit drooling all over your keyboards.)

From the press release:

Columbus, OH—Jeff Smith: Bone and Beyond, the first museum exhibition of work by the influential, Columbus-based comic book artist and writer—best known for his epic graphic novel Bone—will be on view May 10–August 3, 2008 at the Wexner Center for the Arts.

The exhibition—a partnership between the Wexner Center and The Ohio State University’s Cartoon Research Library, collaborating for the first time on an exhibition—will include about 80 original drawings: primarily original black-and-white pages from Bone, with a smaller selection of full-color Bone covers and post-Bone work, including original drawings from Smith’s recent Shazam series for DC Comics and from Rasl, a story about a time-traveling art thief. Smith will also be creating an installation on the wall of the lower lobby of the Wexner Center.

The exhibition includes a selection of original comics whose artists Smith cites as direct influences, among them examples from Walt Kelly’s Pogo, Carl Barks’s Uncle Scrooge, Will Eisner’s The Spirit, George Herriman’s Krazy Kat, Charles Schulz’s Peanuts, Garry Trudeau’s Doonesbury, and E. C. Segar’s Thimble Theatre.

A related show called Jeff Smith: Before Bone—which features a selection of Smith’s pre-Bone work, including pieces he created for The Ohio State University’s campus newspaper The Lantern—will be on view nearby in Ohio State’s Cartoon Research Library.

Bone and Beyond is organized by David Filipi, the Wexner Center’s curator of film and video, and Lucy Shelton Caswell, professor and curator of Ohio State’s Cartoon Research Library.

“Graphic storytelling is enjoying a level of critical and cultural currency as never before,” Filipi says. “This truly is a golden age for the medium, and we are excited to be presenting the first solo gallery exhibition of one of the great artists of his time. As both a writer and artist, Jeff has created an unparalleled body of work and, with Bone, a work that transcends age and will be read for generations. We’re also thrilled to be collaborating in a significant way with the Cartoon Research Library.”

Notes Caswell, “Bone and Beyond is a celebration of the work of this important artist and writer. Jeff’s achievement with Bone is monumental, and this exhibition offers a look at this artist at the height of his creative power.”

The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue featuring an introduction by Caswell, and essays by Filipi, Sandman creator Neil Gaiman, and cartoonist and scholar Scott McCloud. It will also include an interview with Smith conducted by Filipi and Caswell.

A series of talks and events has been scheduled during the run of this exhibition. Smith will take part in a conversation with Scott McCloud on May 10 at 2 pm in Mershon Auditorium. Exhibition curators Caswell and Filipi will host an informal gallery talk at 12:30 pm on May 14. Eisner Award-winning comic book artist Terry Moore will speak on May 15 at 7 pm in the Wexner Center Film/Video Theater, followed by a talk and signing by comic book artist Paul Pope on May 20 at 7 pm, also in the Film/Video Theater. And on June 5, Smith will introduce a Looney Tunes Evening, a selection of his favorite Warner Brothers cartoons. Smith will also be a special guest at the Spring Exhibition Opening on Friday, May 9, 6–9 pm. Additional events will be announced in the coming months.

Admission is free.

Site note: Click the images for super-wide full-size 2.35:1 versions!

I’ve been hearing good things about 3:10 To Yuma since it came out last year, so when Dan from Truth on Cinema said last week that he was getting ready to watch a film I’d just reviewed, I decided to return the favor and move Yuma to the top of my Netflix queue.

It was a treat to be able to come to the film with only the most basic of knowledge of the story. I knew it was a Western, and I knew that Russell Crowe and Christian Bale were involved, but otherwise, I surprised myself by being an almost blank slate, having not even seen the original 1957 version (it’s coming soon, I promise).

We start out the film meeting Dan Evans. Played by Christian Bale, Dan is a down on his luck rancher who just can’t catch a break. His kids are embarrassed by him, his wife doesn’t trust him, and absolutely nothing has gone right for him since he lost his foot in the Civil War. He’s an interesting character, in that his decisions are made of a complex mixture of character and desperation. Dan agrees to escort outlaw Ben Wade (more on him in a moment) to a train that will take him to Yuma prison. It’s the right thing to do, but his real reason for doing it is the $200 payoff that will keep his failing ranch out of foreclosure.

On top of that, there’s Dan’s need to be a hero to his boys, a man for his wife. There’s a terrific scene near the beginning of the film when Dan argues with his wife about his joining the posse. Dan says, “If I don’t go, we gotta pack up and leave. Now I’m tired, Alice. I’m tired of watching my boys go hungry. I’m tired of the way that they look at me. I’m tired of the way that you don’t. I’ve been standing on one leg for three damn years waiting for God to do me a favor. And He ain’t listenin’.”

It’s a powerful moment, a defining moment for the character, made more dramatic by the fact that the lines are whispered angrily so no one else will hear his confession. One minor complaint. I found the lack of resolution in Dan’s relationship with his wife to be a bit unfortunate. I’m not sure how I would’ve liked it addressed, but it was a dangling thread that needed to be sewn up.

Logan Lerman plays William Evans, Dan’s oldest son (above), who has a gigantic chip on his shoulder and nothing but contempt for his father. His father’s a fool, a wimp, a pushover, all the things a lot of 14-year-olds think magnified by his father’s real failure. William has his own journey in 3:10 To Yuma, the journey from boy to man. When the film begins William is enamored by the quick-shooting, uncompromising Ben Wade. Ben is everything his father isn’t, and his eager intoxication with Wade’s total opposite approach to life is deftly shown in Lerman’s performance.

William covertly joins the posse, saving his father’s life, in essence “proving” all the bad things William thinks of him. As the size of the posse slowly dwindles, Dan Evans takes more and more of a leadership role, a fact that goes unnoticed by William. Of course, eventually William learns about his father’s character and uncompromising beliefs, but I was surprised at how late in the film it happened.

Then there’s the outlaw. Ben Wade, played by Russell Crowe, leads a gang of robbers who rob the Southern Pacific’s payroll coach. Shown above with maniacal sidekick Charlie Prince (Ben Foster) and sharpshooter Campos (the impressively built Rio Alexander, who I’m hoping will be doing more movies), Wade finds himself caught and waiting for his gang to find and free him. Meantime, he isn’t going down without a fight as he methodically takes out several members of Dan Evans’ posse and plays psychological games with Evans.

As the title of the film would suggest, the big goal is to get Wade on the 3:10 To Yuma without getting killed in the process. The chances of that happening dwindle when the posse (what’s left of it) makes it into town and Prince offers to pay $200 to whoever mows down a member of the posse. With the entire town against him and the rest of the posse pussing out, Dan must figure out how to get Wade on the train without getting himself shot.

I think I’ll leave the rest of the spoilers unspoiled. Director James Mangold has given us various characters to identify with and see the story through. One that I’ve barely mentioned is Charlie Prince, whose ruthless loyalty to Ben Wade is fascinating to watch in an oddly demented way. There are some great twists and turns through the film, and some wonderful character moments. We learn that the good guy and the bad guy share one thing: they’re both trying to prove themselves, both trying to make sense of their lives.

In other words, they’re both human.

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I’ve been trying to figure out how to lighten the mood after yesterday’s post, and I realized that only one thing can stand next to Godliness. Cleanliness! Duh!

Some time ago Ed Cunard (who never updates his blog anymore) sent me this picture of a sign he saw in a public restroom. Some public official had the truly inspired idea to take snippets of well-known literature and insert a message, in the author’s style, to encourage people to wash their hands.

I decided that it’s so fracking awesome that I had to find out if there were more. I actually found a few online, but didn’t like the design of them. So I took them and redid them myself. I also took the liberty of doctoring a few passages myself.

Eventually, I covertly put them up on the restroom stall doors at work, right about at readable height, if you know what I mean. They’ve gotten a few chuckles, and I’d like to think they got a few people to wash their hands more often.

Anyway, I’m making these seven signs available for download. The images below are small and of poor quality, but each one links to a much higher quality pdf of the corresponding sign. Have some fun with these. All I ask in return is that you send me a quick picture of the sign after you hang it.

Click the image to download a full-size 8½x11 pdf of the sign.