"UNFURLING": A graphic novel by Isabel Rucker
"Unfurling” is a graphic novel I have drawn on three rolls of paper and is approximately 400 ft. long. It is drawn in black ink pen with washes. Seeing the comic in person is an awesome experience, the rolls are 12” wide and the panels range from one to 10 ft. long.
The panels include:
--San Francisco denizens: street tweakers, rockers and roommates
--Wyoming homesteaders, ranch hands and vast scenery
--west coast love, thoughts and travels
Drawing on rolls has allowed for stream of conciousness storytelling, the panels vary in length to reflect pauses, vast scenery, or thought patterns.
I’m looking for a gallery to show it in and I haven’t shown the comic yet. I would especially like to find a place in San Francisco since I lived there for a long time, and am from the Bay Area. The story and drawing project began there.
Contact isabel@isabeljewelry.com or call 307-367-8189
Click on any of the titles below to see samples...the jpg's might take a couple of moments to load.
Cesar Chavez Street, a.k.a. Army St., in San Francisco: Stretching from a couple of blocks from Third St. to approximately Folsom St. This is an area I knew well when I lived in San Francisco, I was living at Third St. and Cesar Chavez in an industrial warehouse.
An old homesteader’s ranch that is pretty much inhabited in the same fashion as it was 80 years ago: no electricity or plumbing, horse drawn farm equipment, woodstove cooking. I eventually moved to the Moore Ranch, later illustrated in “Unfurling”.
While living in San Francisco I went to a lot of rock shows in dark clubs, loud amps rattled my bones.
The comic is drawn on three rolls, so if need be, it can be broken up.
One idea to increase wall space is to Snake or U-Turn the comic:
Or in a smaller space, have the comic hung with all three rolls lined on the walls:
How long is "Unfurling"?
Longer than a football field. The panels vary in length, for example "Cesar Chavez St." is about 10 ft. x 10 in. and some of the panesl in "San Francisco Rock and Roll" are just a foot wide.The paper is 12" wide and there is 1-1.5" white border all along.
Will it be published?
Hope so! I'm working on finding a publisher. The comic could bleed to the edges of wide pages when a panel moves from one page to the next. Or maybe be printed in accordion fashion.
Why did you start this?
I thought it'd be fun to draw the world's longest comic! I had found a roll of calculator paper and thought I could draw a very long comic on it and then decided I should upsize to larger rolls. It has been really really fun to be unbound by borders (at least width-wise). My drawing has become so much more free and comfortable. I've been somewhat obsessed over finishing this one project and as a result have not recently published any of my comicbook 'zines lately...they'll return soon.
How long have you been working on "Unfurling"?
Since 2002, I think. I started it in San Francsico and brought it out to Wyoming to finish. I haven't worked nonstop on it, I take long breaks since I also run Isabel Jewelry and until Jan. 2008 have also been working a 40 hour/week job. But yes, a very long time. One of those 10 ft. panels can take a day if I get really into it and then another might take an hour.
Are you nuts?
Maybe, I just like to have fun. Life is interesting and enjoyable but also difficult and confusing...I try to focus on the upsides. It's fun to do loco projects and sometimes within them you find deep meaning and philosophies that weren't apparent before. Experimentation, variety, movement, and wonder all figure in.
Contact isabel@isabeljewelry.com or call 307-367-8189