We chat with the cartoonist about his memoir and the 11-year-long process of capturing his life in one tome.
There is power in putting your life on the page. Cartoonist Maurice Vellekoop discovered it when making the internal external, crafting a massive graphic novel memoir over eleven years. I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together gorgeously and nakedly splays his experience for EVERYONE to consume, and while his audience could/should find it healingly reflective, the act is entirely selfish. He's found the shape of his journey and solidified it. If only we could all be so fortunate.
Maurice Vellekoop is the youngest of four children, raised by a distant father and a magical mother in the Toronto suburbs. His family stewed in the arts, but young Maurice was drawn more to boob tube icons like Carol Burnett and would rather play with Barbies than read a book. Through his strict Calvinist upbringing, Maurice Vellekoop sensed vicious judgment toward the person he was becoming. I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together charts an epic struggle with depression, loneliness, and a violent, intolerant world.
On this week's podcast, Maurice Vellekoop joins us for a thorough conversation about the power found within memoirs, how depicting the most beautiful and horrid moments in his history created an aesthetic challenge and his complicated relationship with Disney animation. The conversation stands apart from other Comic Book Couples Counseling episodes, just as his book stands apart from other comics released this year. I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together demands your attention, and you should move it immediately to the top of your to-read pile.
Maurice Vellekoop and Heroic Slef Reflection
I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together is now available from Pantheon Books. Please follow Maurice Vellekoop on Instagram and his Website.
As always, Omnibus, the Digital Comic Store and Reader, sponsors our Referrals segment. This week, we selected two comic book titles on the site that satisfy this episode's themes. We won't spoil what they are here, but if you click the links below, you'll be immediately escorted to those books.
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