Toronto love letter

It’s a good life, if you don’t weaken by Seth

I’m not exactly a comic book nerd even if I might look like one; two years ago I didn’t know much beyond a few Marvel titles from my youth. But I have to admit I’m developing a taste for the world of comics and graphic novels, especially coming of age stories and non-fiction about politics and history.

Seth’s “picture novella” is a autobiographical tale that revolves around his search for a long-lost cartoonist after stumbling upon a particularly satisfying single frame in a magazine from a used book store. Throughout the work, Seth talks about life and relationships, sometimes with his good friend Chester Brown (sporting dapper scarf and pants with an amazing overlapping rectangle print!), other times narrating over pictures of city and townscapes. It’s an appealing combination. The cityscapes and settings are an incredible homage to Toronto, as Seth roams through cacti at the Allen Gardens greenhouses, watches fireworks from the waterfront, and admires the ancient dinosaur exhibits at the Royal Ontario Museum. Several smaller towns from southern Ontario also make cameos.

I read an article recently that discussed housing prices and gentrification in New York neighbourhoods. The author suggested that particular areas became desirable to some because they represented their ideal of a typical New York neighbourhood from the 1950s, 60s or 70s- older buildings and a variety of small storefront shops with walkable streets, mixed populations. Seth’s Toronto is along these lines– we see stout brick apartments and warehouses, streets lined with two and three story buildings and shops. Where signage does appear, it’s often small shop names, or iconic institutions like Canadian Tire or CN railways. There were no McDonalds or shining bank towers in Seth’s Toronto. His depiction of the city is largely in keeping with his belief that the past was better (“I look forward to the future with nothing but dread. Things are getting worse and worse every year”) I’m not suggesting Seth’s images of Toronto are wrong; quite the opposite, they do an amazing job evoking the feel of the old downtown and its surroundings. It’s very much a love letter to Toronto.