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The 100 Graphic Novels You Should Read While Stuck Inside: Day Ninety-Nine: Mann Vol.1 And Vol.2
A Mann For All Seasons
Tripwire continues its 100 Graphic Novels You Should Read While Stuck Inside with its ninety-ninth choice, Mann Vol.1 and Vol.2 by Jeremy Mann and reviewed by Tripwire’s editor-in-chief Joel Meadows…
Mann Vol.1/ Mann Vol.2
Artist: Jeremy Mann
Red Rabbit 7
Today’s choice is not a graphic novel but two gorgeous art books.
Jeremy Mann is an artist whose work we were introduced to via social media around the time we switched to the web in 2015. Mann is an artist whose work harks back to the impressionists and the likes of Singer Sargent and Whistler with a little bit of Mucha, Lautrec, Rembrandt and Schiele thrown in for good measure. You can also see illustrators like Cornwell, Leyendecker and McGinnis influencing Mann’s work too. He manages to straddle classic fine art with someone that feels a lot more modern and contemporary.
The first book, Vol.1, focuses more on his cityscapes and we can see that his depictions of New York, Chicago and San Francisco mirror the chaos, the life and the beauty of these places. His pieces manage to be frenetic, elegant and packed full of kinetic energy. His portraits here have a cool beauty to them, managing to bring together a style which is classical and very up to date at the same time. We also see some of his landscape paintings too which are equally impressive. The physical size of the book does help to give the reader a sense of the actual scale of his work. Vol.1 feels like a huge tome, which does seem appropriate considering the physical size of his canvasses.
Vol.2, which was published in December 2017, is an equally huge book, turning its focus more on his portraits. We do still get a few of his cityscapes but they are fewer here. The book also contains a small selection of his photos and a number of interviews including the one that Tripwire did with him back in 2016. Vol.2 does show his newer work too and we can see an evolution of his painting style. His cityscapes are dramatic while his portraits are sensuous with a dreamlike quality to many of them.
The word genius is perhaps overused sometimes but it applies here. Mann’s work has a power and an impact to it with real heart and soul. If you can’t see his work in the wild, at a gallery, then this is the next best thing. These two books are a must-buy for people who are aficionados of fine art and illustration although you may need to make some space for them on your shelves.
Joel Meadows
Here’s links to the other graphic novels reviewed so far
The 100 Graphic Novels You Should Read While Stuck Inside: Day Fifty-seven: Blankets
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