The Heartbreaking Charm of RAYMOND BRIGGS | Four Marvelous Comics Everyone Should Read!
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- Опубліковано 14 сер 2024
- Raymond Briggs is the rare artist who has created soaring and heartbreaking works for both children and adults almost in equal measure. For over forty years he has given us gentle, poetic and wrenching stories, including the Christmas children's classics The Snowman and Father Christmas, but also the nonfiction story of his parents Ethel And Ernest, and the acclaimed anti-war parable When the Wind Blows.
In this episode we take a look and four wonderful comics that put on display Briggs' talent and empathy, and the way he harnesses both in his tragicomic, half melancholy-half silly tales of the a different working class.
Buy these books here (Amazon affiliate links):
Father Christmas: amzn.to/2QzfvTG
Gentleman Jim: amzn.to/3n6QawF
When the Wind Blows: amzn.to/32AWAe1
Ethel and Ernest: amzn.to/2OX3Ayp
The Snowman: amzn.to/3srz3qe
Father Christmas Goes on Holiday: amzn.to/3x3PNav
Fungus the Bogeyman: amzn.to/3tvCtJK
Watch more introductions to and spotlights on my favourite comics, creators, and series using this playlist:
• Introductions to Class...
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• Our Comics Collection
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00:00 Who is Raymond Briggs?
01:08 Why is he special?
02:11 The 4 Comics
04:11 Main Titles
04:22 Father Christmas/ working man
09:47 Gentleman Jim/ no country for highwaymen
13:26 When the Wind Blows/ whose line is it?
18:34 Ethel and Ernest/ ordinary extraordinary
22:10 The not-secret charm of Raymond Briggs
25:24 More Raymond Briggs? - Розваги
Timestamps/ Table of Contents:
00:00 Who is Raymond Briggs?
01:08 Why is he special?
02:11 The 4 Comics
04:11 Main Titles
04:22 Father Christmas/ working man
09:20 Themes we'll see again
09:47 Gentleman Jim/ no country for highwaymen
13:26 When the Wind Blows/ whose line is it?
18:34 Ethel and Ernest/ ordinary extraordinary
22:10 The not-secret charm of Raymond Briggs
25:24 More Raymond Briggs?
Ethel and Ernest is an extraordinary work. I’m not sure I could love someone who didn’t weep at reading that book - it’s ridiculously powerful, and one of my favourite books I’ve ever read.
I absolutely agree! It is a kind, elegant and generous masterpiece!
Yes. This is the type of comic channel I've been looking for. Subbed.
Thank you so much and a very warm welcome! Here's wishing you a great time here! 😁
Gentleman Jim and his wife are also the central characters in "When the Wind Blows". Sometimes people don't realise this.
Indeed! Especially because I think more have read When the Wind than Gentleman Jim, or usually first!
I came to your channel for your very helpful Tintin collection comparison reviews. But this review and comparison of themes in Raymond Briggs’ graphic novels is wholly inspiring. I’m adding his books to my future read list! Thank you, and looking forward to more of your love of comics.
Thank you so much; that's lovely to hear and I hope you find plenty more to enjoy on this channel! 😁
Lovely video. Like many of my generation, if you grew up in the UK, Raymond Briggs' books were omnipresent. The local library didn't have comics, but Briggs' books, Fungus the Bogeyman, Father Christmas and The Snowman, were permitted. Clearly they were viewed as something other than comics. They, importantly, weren't American!
While my Mother never really liked my love of American comics, she loved Raymond Briggs. A passion we could share...Even if I never really understood her selective prejudices.
Briggs is a national treasure, his books should be held in higher regard by comic fan the world over.
I've just discovered your video channel and have enjoyed delving into your back catalogue.
Thanks - Hedley
A very warm welcome to the channel! I hope you find plenty to enjoy here - If I may, I'd recommend the complete playlists page, which I always also like to get feedback on as a tour through my 'catalogue' 😁
Your story of how Raymond Briggs was 'disqualified' comics is a testament to his power; it reminds me of how people who didn't think sci-fi as a genre couldn't produce literature would say 'that's not sci-fi' about Ray Bradbury or Kurt Vonnegut.
Briggs definitely should be known far and wide!
@@ftlocFound a copy of Father Christmas a couple years back in one of those donation boxes. It was nice finding it here in the US.
Totally love this video. I just love Raymond Briggs his stories. And its exactly as you say it. Its somewhat funny but also heartbreaking. The characters could be defined als simple folk but thats too easy, they are pure and have hopes, dreams and fears like anyone else. The last Briggs that i bought is The Tin-Pot Foreign General and the Old Iron Woman. Its an absolute political pamflet on the British-Argentine war on The Falkland islands but told in children's book manner. But the story and the art are anything but children's book like.
Oh, I need to try and find that one - I don't have high hopes for it though, I haven't encountered it in any of my searches yet! 😢
Thanks so much!
I haven’t read and Raymond Briggs’s for many years but you have articulated his talents so well that I am inspired to make those purchases. Many thanks for this, and for your excellent channel!
Thank you so very much, and I am thrilled you feel that rekindling! I think Briggs is an absolute genius and a true treasure, and I would love to know what you think of revisiting his work if you get the chance to do so! Cheers!
For the Love of Comics I found an old copy of Fungus the Bogeyman at home, which I remember being quite intrigued by as a roughly eight year old. It is certainly full of detail and atmosphere but wasn’t compelled to read all of it.
I would be interested to hear your thoughts - or those of any fellow viewers - on Fungus.
Ethel and Ernest is on the way!
@@MrArukimasu I read somewhere that Brigg's approach to Fungus was to make it sort of the opposite of the Snowman, crammed and full of squelching nastiness. I have to say that I thought it was ambitious, but I have to agree with you that it didn't speak to me as purely and clearly as many of his other works. I felt the same way about the second Father Christmas book, to a lesser extent. It seemed very adroit and extremely charming but with too much going on compared to the spare beauty of the first book.
I can't wait to hear what you think of Ethel and Ernest!
Happy new year!
Another excellent video. RB's is a unique standalone creator in my opinion whose work may look rather "twee" at first glance, but his books actually pack a real (and often satirical) punch without ever being mean, unkind or cynical in any way. The characters are in some ways innocent salt-of-the-earth types but are presented very frank manner which gives them real dimension and humanity.
I'm really pleased my parent's copy of E&E has gone to such a good home and I'm sure they will be too.
I am honoured to have that copy and I hope you're pleased with the barrage of thoughts, and the video, it inspired! Raymond Briggs is unmatched in his ability to play it straight and still have the satire seep through; it's that sleight of hand that keeps him from being unkind or cynical, as you point out, yet have barbs in his stories.
Melancholy news, Fungus the Bogeyman's dad's clogs have popped.
Vale, Raymond Briggs, writer and illustrator extraordinaire.
The Raymond Briggs spotlight is here, Yaay! And the production quality is fabulous on this one.
😁 Thank you! I hope you liked the video and it was worth the wait!
Totally worth the wait, I have read when the wind blows didn't know that there was a prequel definitely gonna read Gentlemen Jim next. Thanks for the effort.
Great video, I have seen the when the wind blows movie and it’s so sad though but it’s a great movie. It’s cool to see you go in depth with the story’s he’s done 👍
I'm glad you liked the video! Yes, the book is as devastating as the movie, maybe even more, which I think is very interesting given how different his stories can be with the same, or very similar, characters!
Great video! I just feel that you should have included The Snowman as a wordless novel. That is maybe his biggest internationally known opus. Keep up the great work!
Thank you! And I was going to initially have _The Snowman_ included, but it didn't quite fit the shape of the working-class narratives of these other books, so I decided to save it for the follow up video with Fungus and the Father Christmas sequel, among others! 😁
Raymond Briggs is one of my favorite artists. Thank you for featuring his works.
That means a lot coming from a fan; thank you so much! He's one of my all time favorites too!
I finally found a channel here about comics, that not only sheds light on the many genres, but also on the many origins of all the works.
Most of the channels on youtube are mostly limited to superhero comics and / or comics from the USA.
Just to be clear: I like US comics and like to read a superhero story now and then - but these channels often do not even remotely cover the wonderful diversity of this medium from all over the world.
Now I have a lot to watch here :) Keep it up! Subscribed!
Thank you so much and a very warm welcome to the channel! I have videos on superhero comics too, but most of my reading is not in that genre these days. I hope you enjoy the spotlighting of my various loves and I'd love to hear any feedback or suggestions you may have!
@@ftloc very nice!
Great stuff as always, now im interested to check out his works, the art style looks terrific! On another note, hope you both are staying safe during the second wave, things here in Bangalore looked horrible so i fortunately came back two weeks ago to my parents’ home.
Thank you so much; as you can tell, I definitely think Raymond Briggs is worth checking out!
I'm glad to know you're well. We're handling it all right so far, although things are a bit chaotic. Stay safe!
@@ftloc Thanks, while I made it safe before the second wave started getting out of hand, I left all my comics in Bangalore, which makes me feel bored.
Indeed!
Fantastic video - great production and timestamps are a smart addition! I've heard Raymond Briggs' name before, but I've never read any of his work - not even his children's stories. He looks like a really wonderful creator. Fortunately my library has Ethel & Ernest and Gentleman Jim, so I'll be picking up both of those soon. I have vague memories of the animated When the Wind Blows film, but I don't think I've ever seen it.
I'm thrilled you enjoyed the video and some of the technical tweaks! Raymond Briggs is definitely a wonderful artist and I'd love to know what you think of the books you do get to check out. I just received a prose book by him, an autobiography on getting old, that I am really looking forward to sinking my teeth into soon!
This is the first time for me to comment on a youtube video. I want to thank you for the effort you put into making your videos. Your enthusiasm has already made me buy and read a couple of comics, that I would otherwise have not piced up. And I have loved them all! So because you are bringing some reading joy into my life, I would like to recomend you a story by Shaun Tan. I have a deep love for almost all of his books and by waching your video's I am pretty sure you will enyoy them to. It's called "Eric" and you can look at it as a pannel per page comic. Shaun Tan is also an artist who's illustrations make you think his books are amed at children but the stories in them are more adult. Like "The red tree" looks like a childrens book but the story in it depics a acurate description of (a mild) depression.I think you would also love his short story"147" from "Tales From The Inner City" but this book is not a graphic novel. You are welcome to ignore my recomidation! I just felt like I wanted to give something back.
Thank you so much for your kind words and I am flattered to be the recipient of your first ever comment!
I love Shaun Tan too - I have mentioned his _Arrival_ in a couple of my videos now, and have also really enjoyed his _Tales From Suburbia_ , _Cicada_ , and _Lost and Found_ . I ordered _Tales From The Inner City_ recently but the order got cancelled to some lockdown restrictions so I will have to place that order again; I guess I will be adding _Eric_ to that order now! 😁
He really is a terrific artist and his books feel like dreams to me. I know that not all of his books are comics but he's one of those people I make an exception for.
@@ftloc Thank you verry much for your reply. Eric is a story out of Tales from Outer Suburbia that is also published as a single issue. The single issue does read and feels differend becouse of the different format, but you already own this story :) I'm quite new at the world of comics and your video's are really helping me descide wich books to buy that will also suit my tast, so thanks again! Thru your recomendations I have now read some works of Lilli Carré, Jason, Rob Davis and I have just finiched reading Palestine, Footnotes in Gaza has arrived yesterday. Mouse Guard I have orderd for my son and comics by Richard Sala are next on my list.
@@doempiedoempie Ah It's been so long since I read Outer Suburbia that I have forgotten the story names. What a great reason to revisit it! 😁
I'm so glad you're enjoying the channel and the books you've selected so far are just terrific. What did you think of Lilli Carre, Rob Davis and Jason? I am sure both you and your son will enjoy Mouse Guard, and I'd love to know what the reaction to that was too! 😁
@@ftloc I had accedentally bought The Lagoon in French. Now my French is rusty (to say the least) so I had to use Google translate, wich made for a odd reading expierince. I really loved the artwork and it made me buy Heads or Tails. From this book I love: The Thing about Madeline, The Carnival and The Flip. Fom Jason I have only read The Left Bank Gang and I loved the story and his art! So I am going to collect more Jason comics. The first book of the trilogy by Rob davis: The Motherless Oven I did not enjoy as much as the second and the final volume. The artwork is not really of my tast, but as a whole I did enjoy the series. Palestine, I had to put down a couple of times because of the heavy subject matter (I almost started crying while reading during a bus drive on my way home from work), powefull and painfull especcially because the conflict, to this day is ongoing. Mouse Guard volume one and two will (hopefully) arive next week, I will let you know what we thought!
@@ftloc I promised to tell how I experienced Mouse Guard. Just finished reading Mouse Guard volume 1, Winter has not yet arrived (delayed). I agree with you! The story telling and art breaths and reads: “fantasy”. An alternate world set in a medieval time where cute little talking mice with little swords and cloaks have built their own little societies. There is a legend about a special weapon that was given to a true hero. An adventure about loyalty, bravery and betrayal. Apart from magic, many fantasy tropes are used.
I liked that the characters read like mice with human characteristics and not like humans with mice features. Although the mice walk around on their two hind legs, sit on chairs and fight with swords, their movement, body language and anatomy is mice. By ruffling up the fur and adding some lines around the eyes the age differences between the characters are clearly established…..the art is just great!
Where I think the story telling in the artwork is superb, I do think, the story telling in writhing lacked depth. But the tone and style of the drawings are so amazing that they breathe life into the story, so that did not bother me too much. If my son takes the books with him when he moves out, I will have to buy one for myself!
Thanks for this video. I went online and ordered a copy of Gentleman Jim as a result.
I would love to see you look at some Posy Simmonds as she is another British creator who has carved out a unique place in the publishing world with her comics. A similar and singular figure in the Briggs mold perhaps. Cassandra Darke, Tamara Drewe and Gemma Bovary are all excellent.
Wonderful, I am sure you'll enjoy Gentleman Jim - it's a unique work that I am happy to see was reprinted by Drawn and Quarterly. As for Posy Simmonds, I have only read _Tamara Drewe_ of the books you mentioned and really loved it! It felt like a Mike Leigh movie in some ways, but also had a very unique tone. I'm going to go look for the other two books right now, thanks for the tip!
My friend gifted me "Where the Wind Blows" in large European Comics Album format, paperback and I absolutely loved it. I got so immersed in those tiny panels and the lives of the couple that I was in tears by the end...a powerful powerful story. This for me was probably as gut wrenching as watching Grave of the Fireflies by Isao Takahata
What a great comparison to Grave of the Fireflies! Although very different, they share strikingly similar themes and are equally devastating.
Thanks for another great and insightful episode. While reading When the wind blows the thought that had stuck in my mind was "Their's not to reason why. Theirs but to do and die". And was absolutely shocked when I spotted lyrics of the same poem making a "cameo" in the end of the book.
Also I was intrigued by the presence of Raymond Briggs and his wife in Ethel and Ernest book and I believe that based on their fate it casts a darker tone in the book.
But indeed his books have this contrast of love and hope against "our real world". And this wonderful comedy/tragedy of "failing to grasp it all" something that most of us (if not all) are probably guilty of.
"Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them..." certainly resonates, doesn't it? At the same time it is also played for the dark comedy of what programming takes over and overrides. 'The failure to grasp' you mention taken to a dark yet adorable level.
Is there a dark fate re:Briggs and his wife? I am not aware of many biographical details.
Thrilled that you enjoyed the video!
@@ftloc Briggs' wife, who suffered from schizophrenia, died from leukaemia in 1973, two years after his parents' death.
Btw, as far as I remember, Briggs has said that he was inspired by some booklets provided by the Goverment to the "common people" about how they should behave in the case of a nuclear attack.
Just heard that Raymond Briggs passed away yesterday at 88 years of age. Think I'll pull Fungus for a reread, RiP.
I just read about it myself - sad news, but what a lovely legacy he has left us. Maybe Ethel and Ernest for me this week?
This is the first video from your channel that I've viewed, and I enjoyed the discussion very much. One question that came to mind is whether you think there could be a distinct 'Indian' reading of Raymond Briggs? I ask, as so much of my own enjoyment of his work is embedded in nostalgia for the slightly shabby yet tender post-war Britain that stretched from 1945 until, perhaps, the early 1980s--a Britain experiencing the (largely unspoken) trauma of having won a war but somehow lost an empire, and, it seems, retreating into the security of simple pleasures: tea, cake and beer, old books, gardening, self-deprecating humour and sport, while the state itself grew a shade nastier and bureaucratic and the wider world more lethal. How much of this translates or is even necessary for his books to work overseas, I wonder? There's a lot more going on than a glance at his busy little domestic scenes might suggest (not least the repeated lump-in-the-throat reminders that all must pass), but I'm unable to judge how much a change in milieu would affect the resonance of his themes. Briggs's satirical strikes at bureaucracy and idealisation of family would, I suspect, ring true, but beyond that, I couldn't say.
What a wonderful encapsulation!
Although I hesitate to represent any one 'Indian' reading, I do feel that for people of a certain age and socio-economic background, the seventies and eighties in urban India would have had many echoes of the environments you describe. Until the opening up of the markets to the whole world in 1991, India's closed economy definitely created a large urban middle class that was not quite poor, but hardly in luxury.
I think coupled with an affinity for/familiarity with British literature (like for Russian literature), especially period/ classic, this could definitely factor in recognizing and empathizing with many elements here.
But perhaps more broadly, I think Briggs does what so many great writers do - achieve universality through the specific. Even with the 'foreignness' of a particular zeitgeist or cultural temperature soaking these stories, they are instantly recognizable - as celebrations, as elegies and as arguments, like gentler versions of celebrated Russian and Irish writing, at least to my eyes!
I'm from the UK, where the Snowman and Father Christmas films are an institution at Christmas time, but I've never heard of his adult stories! I'll be looking out for those very soon.
I'd love to know what you think of them!
When the Wind Blows has this crushing sense of inevitability. There will be no plot twists: there is only one way the story will go-and that is completely appropriate. It totally works, moment to moment. The reader goes all the way to the bitter end with the characters, knowing full well what is going to happen.
I have not read any other of his works but I am open recommendations on anything that uses the comic medium to its advantage.
_When the Wind Blows_ was also my introduction to Mr Briggs, and I have found all his stories, to varying levels, be as inevitable yet worth-the-journey as you point out it is. The generosity he has towards his characters is what lets us want better for them in spite of their flaws, and how cruel that makes the world we accept feel.
Hi thanks for the video, it is great.
Please also talk about sergio aragones...
I would love to but I need more of his books to do him justice! 😁
I’d love more Raymond Briggs videos, The Snowman and Father Christmas animated short films are a Christmas Eve tradition of mine dating back to my childhood (i can’t remember a Christmas without the Snowman). I really enjoyed the animated adaptation of Ethel and Ernest too. I’ve never read his books (other than a copy of Father Christmas that I found in my primary school library) but I’ve got a hardcover volume of Gentleman Jim which I really should get around to reading.
Thank you! I will definitely revisit Raymond Briggs in a future video (once I have got a few more of his books and read them) even if only two people watch! 😁
I'm also really curious about the Ethel and Ernest movie and will try and seek it out; Cheers!
As always a wonderfully insightful take on something I don't know much about! And what a doozy of a video!
I will have to check some of these books out soon enough, I just cant seem to keep up with all the goodies you showcase every week,
it would be trivial to solely procure and read along your video material, an excellent way to keep one perpetually busy :D
Have you dived into looking at different editions of these, are there many different offerings in varying levels of "premiumness" and/or hardcovery?
I'll catch you on Discord soon as I think I have another music recommendation to go along with what you showed here :)
Thank you so much, as always! And who among us can possibly keep up with everything there is to read 😁?
With Briggs, though (like Shaun Tan, mentioned in another comment here and whom I know we both love) the 'reading time' or effort is minimal and more time is spent with the echo of the work within us. That also makes them incredibly easy to pick up and reread, which I think means everyone should have books like that on the shelves to go along with the longer, heavier books.
I really liked the miniature hardcover of Father Christmas, but other than that I am not that familiar with different editions. Gentleman Jim has been reprinted by Drawn and Quarterly in the thin hardcover I show here and that features an introduction by Seth, a perfect complement I feel. And of course Paul sent me a first edition hardcover of Ethel nd Earnest and I see there are paperback reprints easily available.
If I lived in the UK/ Europe with access to ebay etc, I would perhaps seek out the first editions of all these books. I just love the idea of holding in my hands the copies that introduced the world to these stories.
Time For Lights Out. You left out what i was looking for😂😂.
I have not been able to get my hands on it yet! I understand it is illustrated prose and poetry more than outright comics, right?
@@ftloc i dunno. I was browsing for books and came across it. It looked interesting so i was looking for a review.
Spending a night in a hotel with my fiancee tonight. Looks like I better dim the lights and get this video rolling because this is what's happening now.
Haha I am beyond flattered! I hope the video's worth it!
Have you read the hedge knight graphic novels.
I’m wondering that now too (having had some time working on some of the story).
No, I have not, are they good?
Yes they are good. They are prequel to 'a song of ice and fire' books.
Another great video! got to know a lot about a cartoonist I heard very little before. One question - I bought When the Wind Blows 2 weeks back. I didn’t know much about it, I read the first two pages and it’s was very cheap so I thought would give it a try. Do you think I will appreciate it better if I read Gentleman Jim first? Or will it work as a stand alone? After watching your video I am most interested in Ethel and Ernst. Will add it to my ever increasing wishlist 😉
You can easily read _When the Wind Blows_ without having read _Gentleman Jim_; in fact, I didn't even know _Gentleman Jim_ was published before and featured the same characters until I read it a few years ago, and I had read _When The Wind Blows_ more than a decade earlier. Either order will give you a singular experience I am sure!
@@ftloc cool, thanks
Good video👍👍
Thank you 👍🏼 So glad you enjoyed it!
"First" 😁
😁 I hope I have not stirred up a hornet's nest now...
@@ftloc haha. I can't draw so.... 😂