2012 in Review: Bruce Mutard Part Two

What is something non-comics that you have enjoyed in 2012?

Crikey, I've been away so much that I've seen hardly any movies on the big screen and not a huge amount on the box, either. Anyone who's seen my DVD collection knows I'm a huge movie fan.  OKay, like so many others, I got tuned into the Game of Thrones show and it is fabulous, though I have reservations about all the women being either vixens or whores. The books are great, too. I also decided to follow up on the fuss over the Hunger Games and it was a cracking read - great positive female protagonist who has the awkwardness of a teenager still within her. The film version was quite good, but I can understand why it couldn't be so brutal as the book.

2012 was the year of the popular series, so I've also taken to Stieg Larsson. The books are great reads, though again, for someone who professes to be so caring about women's rights and anti sex-trafficking, Larsson does give undue detail about his female characters sex lives and his male protagonist is a middle-aged unremarkable bloke who seems to have a lot of women hot for him. If you're going to watch it on film, watch the Swedish original TV series version with Noomi Rapace - the cinema forms were cut down from these. Blindingly good thrillers. The big Hollywood version was alright, but sort of unnecessary. Sticking with Sweden - one of the best vampire films I've seen is 'Let The Right One In'. So… Swedish, but so in tune with alienated kids. Powerful. 

I also have become a fan of Once Upon A Time series. Very good mash of all the old fairy tales with twin storylines weaving in and out of storybook and storybook. It's never twee, quite intelligent and the original back-stories to some of the Grimm characters is often pretty insightful. 

Of course, Homeland was a ball-tearer. As was Boardwalk Empire (which I still haven't finished). Australian shows worth a look were things like Rake, Redfern Now (though at times self conscious), Howzat! We have a ton of cinematic talent in this country and too few opportunities to make good use fo them. 

Okay - a big plug  for Dan Hayward's This is Roller Derby as well. Really caught the essential spirit of this girls only grass roots sport. I love their 'fuck you' attitude. Get the DVD.

And another for my dear friend Mira Bartok's 'The Memory Palace' book - how such an upbringing could produce such a lovely person as her and her sister, proves there is far more to nature than nurture. Their mother was clearly a brilliant mind hijacked by schizophrenia. Turns out their mother was a huge fan of comics too, only she never let on. 

Of course, travelling a lot allowed me to see a huge amount of art and architecture that I've only ever seen in books. By far and away the best major art museum that I've seen so far is the Prado in Madrid - gosh, you only have to walk into the room with Goya' Night Pictures to realise what heights art can attain. The Prado is blessed with huge collections of two of the best painters who ever lived in Goya and Velaquez, who were both Spaniard and court painters, so I guess the Prado being made of the royal collection, they had an advantage. But it also has Bosch' 'Garden Of Earthly Delights' which is something any art lover has to see in the original.

Whilst in town, see the Thyssen-Borezma collection of modern art which is one of the very best I've seen. Also saw a lovely retrospective of Odilon Redon whilst in town. Picasso' Guernica is also worth the pilgrimage. Seeing Duchamp' collection at the Philadephia Museum of Fine Art was amazing. I paid my repsects to 'The Large Glass' at last. The Barnes collection in the same city is amazing though way too much of Renoir, whom I have no time for his endless soft porn pics of pudgy women and twee kids.

Barcelona - the famous uncompleted Gaudi cathedral - it is truly, truly breathtaking - a work of astonishing beauty. But the 12th C El Sur cathedral is also gob-smacking beautiful - I'm never short of being astonished at what medieval craftsmen could achieve. And the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao lives up to and exceeds all expectations. But Bilbao itself is more than this museum too. I did see Leonardo' 'Last Supper'  in Milan, too; yes, it is quite remarkable and more so how it survived the rest of the building being leveled in WW2. I could go on and on. Shows - saw a a few of them, too. 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" with Geoffrey Rush was fabulous. I'll stop now. 

Have you implemented any significant changes to your working methods this year? 

Well, if by that you mean I have spent waayyy too much time traveling, doing shows, conferences, organising events and not enough at the drawing board, then you'd count that as a change. It's one I welcome, but I have to scale back. I have a book to do and in answer to my most FAQ: yes, the Fight is on the way but not due out until April 2015. In terms of working methodology, yes things are changing all the time. I write more with pictures these days than with words - akin to my core thesis of what comics are. 

What are you looking forward to in 2013?

Gosh where to start again?

Um… well, clearly the Caravan part 2 heading to TCAF in May. I wil also be presenting at the International Comic Arts Forum in POrtland,OR, that same month. I will be hanging around stateside for a while and then heading to Italy to break the back of my Masters thesis project - a comic installation for a gallery exhibition.

Then the SPXO show in September - another Caravan style trip to showcase Australian and NZ art to the Yanks. It'll be something special and anyone who wants in, can come. Some funding will be available.

The Canberra residency.

Assuming and making use of my appointment as the holder of the Australian Society of Authors Comics and Graphic Novels portfolio. I have plans for this to take representation and the Australian industry to a new level.

Producing lots of comics somehow amidst all this. More events. more everything. Maybe find love too.

http://brucemutard.com.au/