Took some time tonight to go the Red and Black Cafe and see Eric Drooker give a slide show in promotion of his new graphic novel, Blood Song. (Those in Portland can get a copy at Reading Frenzy, who co-sponsored the event)

Anyway, Eric was great and as the Q&A turned mostly to politics—not unusual given the locale and the speaker– so I waited til after Kevin had handed Eric a chapbook of In Contempt to ask a predictable question: “How often has your work been compared to Lynd Ward?” Not as predictable as I thought.

Apparently people rarely make the connection. He said Lynd was a huge influence, which can be seen here and here (Eric’s own site, www.drooker.com, seems to be down) Eric sounded a little bitter that no one seem to know of Lynd Ward, I was just flabbergasted.

Ye gods and little fishies, people! Lynd Ward? Did God’s Man? Scott McCloud mentions him on page 18 of Understanding Comics? Considering all the lefty cartoonists that must go see Eric Drooker, my question should have been a downright cliché.

Kids today, I tell ya…