Matt B tears a strip off
Sunday February 22, 2004
appeared in the Toronto Sun
by Sherri Wood
What does a gay guy, a drunkard, a sexually active unmarried couple and an animal testing cosmetics company have in common?
It's not what it sounds like.
They're all over the funny pages of your newspaper. Or rather, they have been at some point in time.
And they caused a barrel of controversy.
This is the theme of local comic artist Matthew Blackett's upcoming lecture series, as part of the Toronto Public Library's "Freedom To Read Week."
"Issues like animal testing in 'Bloom County', a gay character in 'For Better Or For Worse' and unmarried sex in 'Doonsbury' caused huge controversy. and newspapers started dropping comics because of the complaints they received," says Blackett. "For some reason, people think comics should only be funny and lighthearted and not serious. But many cartoonists differ from that."
Blackett certainly
doesn't shy away from heavier issues in his own semi-autobiographical comic
M@B (pronounced Matt B). His self-published book, an anthology of his work
entitled 'Wide Collar Crimes', and his comic strip in Eye Weekly, gently
touch on everything from the municipal elections to homelessness to being
fired from his day job.
"I want my comic to be an honest reflection of my life," says Blackett. "And that sometimes includes the shittier things in life. It's everything -- the ups and downs and trials and tribulations."
Not all cartoonists are as candid as Blackett, though, it makes for what he says is a boring comics page.
"If you look at what's happening on the comics page today, it's complete drivel for the most part, and hardly any of it is funny or challenging," says Blackett. "Look at 'Andy Capp': the guy's a drunk who flirts with floozies at bars behind his wife's back. No one seems to complain about that. People just want the same thing and don't want to be challenged."
Controversy on the funny pages isn't the only reason Blackett decided to speak during Freedom To Read Week. While touring in the U.S., the cartoonist was disheartened by what he discovered about the American library system. "In the U.S., anyone's library records can be confiscated and used against them at the demand of the police and many librarians are protesting by destroying records," says Blackett. "Our system is different in Canada, but even book stores have their own built-in censorship. A book doesn't get sold if the store doesn't agree with it. So I think it's appropriate that our libraries are holding Freedom to Read Week."
It's not just the freedom to read that Blackett's outspoken about. As a founding member of the Toronto Public Space Committee (TPSC) and Spacing magazine (both organizations protest the advertization and privatization of public space), Blackett is an activist in his own right and draws a connection between all of his work.
"It all comes down to the basic idea that we live in a democracy and I really feel strongly that in a democracy the key element is freedom of speech," says Blackett. "It's about standing up for your rights and being involved in the process."
And you'd be hard pressed to find anyone more involved in the city's underground arts scene than Blackett. On top of M@B, public speaking, and the TPSC, Blackett's involved with the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, arts and lit magazine 'Kiss Machine', and the Perpetual Motion Roadshow -- a DIY indie-publishing tour that he's just completed for the second time.
And he's opted not to find another day job. "I've filled my life with things that I'm passionate about and that I'm really interested in. And I just don't want to waste any of my time now that I'm here," says Blackett. "I realize now that I don't need a full-time job to keep me alive. What I need is to do the thing s that I really enjoy and love."
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