But enough about my seasonal affective disorder, I haven't posted in a long while. Today I'll review two diaries. The first is SnakePit My Life in a Jugular Vein by Ben Snakepit and the second is 365 Days by Julie Doucet. Snakepit covers three years, highlights from Ben SnakePit's day are documented in a three panel format. As he says himself, he really can't draw but the simple lines reinforce the repetition inherent in his formula. Often pages will go by with him working, getting stoned, being broke, eating burritos and so on. This is broken up by occasional tours. He is so right about Rockford, it is a shitty place.
I for one am impressed that he manages to concentrate his days into three sections. If I were to attempt such a thing it would go something like this.
...and that's just before noon.Highlights include the part where he gets scabies and there is a hilarious panel where his friend calls him out because he draws himself thinner than he actually is. In his defense he does begin to lay a little more ink around his midsection. What makes this work all the sweeter is the CD with track listing by date.
I first read Julie Doucet in her excellent Dirty Plotte more than a decade ago. She has always done surreally autobigraphical work and this is no exception. Doucet misses days and sometimes weeks and the days are often separated by decorative borders or collage elements. Of the two books this one is more self consciously artistic. Because of her past work I tend to forgive her for anything (really, anything) but she seems put out about having to make the journal at all. Despite that it is still easy to get lost in her lines and when she feels like it the intimacy she has always brought to her autobiographical stuff is there.
