{"id":29129,"date":"2023-12-23T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-23T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=29129"},"modified":"2023-12-19T16:57:53","modified_gmt":"2023-12-19T16:57:53","slug":"the-juggler-of-our-lady-the-classic-christmas-story-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2023\/12\/23\/the-juggler-of-our-lady-the-classic-christmas-story-3\/","title":{"rendered":"The Juggler of Our Lady – The Classic Christmas Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\" \"\"
\nBy R. O. Blechman<\/strong> with a Foreword by Jules Feiffer<\/strong> and Introduction by Maurice Sendak<\/strong> (Dover Comics & Graphic Novels\/Dover Children\u2019s)
\nISBN: 978-0-486-80030-1 (HB\/Digital edition)<\/p>\n

Win\u2019s Christmas Gift Recommendation: An Immaculate Confection\u2026 10\/10 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Christmas is not just about shiny new toys and sparkly knitwear. It\u2019s also about unearthing or revisiting old, beloved and – in this case – almost totally forgotten treasures like a magnificent hardback picture-perfect gift that\u2019s still readily available; thanks to the perspicacious souls at Dover Books.<\/p>\n

Oscar Robert Blechman is a glittering star in America\u2019s graphic arts firmament and an international superstar. Brooklyn-born in 1930, he has excelled as cartoonist, illustrator, author, animator & director, editorial cartoonist, Editorial Director and ad-man.<\/p>\n

He won awards for his commercials and TV specials and been venerated in an exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art. His anti-Vietnam cartoons graced The Village Voice<\/strong> through the early 1970s whilst his cartoons and illustrations appeared in such prestigious vehicles as Punch<\/strong>, The New Yorker<\/strong>, Trump<\/strong>, Harper\u2019s Bazaar<\/strong>, Esquire<\/strong>, Show<\/strong>, Theater Arts<\/strong> and Humbug<\/strong>. He\u2019s also produced fascinating graphic narratives such as Franklin the Fly<\/strong>, Talking Lines<\/strong> and Georgie<\/strong> and can reasonably claim to have produced one of the very first English-language Graphic Novels – and thus beginneth today\u2019s lesson\u2026<\/p>\n

In 1952 Blechman used his groundbreaking and soon-to-be phenomenally influential minimalist line-style – deftly augmented with judicious watercolours – to make a much-told tale all his own. The Juggler of Our Lady<\/strong> was his first book: initially published by Henry Holt, and superbly fetishized and commemorated through brother-cartoonist Maurice Sendak\u2019s fondly emotional Introduction<\/em> in this sublime pocket edition. The slim tome became a landmark in graphic narrative and is beloved by generations.<\/p>\n

Anatole France\u2019s 1892 tale Le Jongleur de Notre Dame<\/strong> is probably the most widely accepted version of the original medieval religious-miracle myth but there have been so many others the story is as much part of most people\u2019s seasonal landscape as Santa<\/em> Claus<\/em> or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Blechman\u2019s reinvigoration retains all the awe and wonder, whilst adding such a potent blend of wry humour, pitiful humility and gentle hope to the mix that it can make a grown man weep. In 1958 his book became an animated Terrytoons<\/strong> TV short with a huge impact when it was adapted by Al Kouzel & Gene Deitch and narrated by that legendary Spirit of Christmas Past Boris Karloff<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n

You surely know the story: Cantalbert<\/em> is an itinerant juggler who loves his work. He feels that if more people juggled there would less time for war and misery and folk would act better, feel better and be better. Nobody, however, will listen and the despondent performer – hungry for spirituality – joins a monastery. Even here he does not fit in and is saddened by his lack of suitable talents to venerate The Lord and especially his mother The Virgin Mary\u2026<\/p>\n

Everything comes to a head on Christmas Eve when the monks all display the magnificent presents they have made for the Madonna and poor Cantalbert has nothing worthy to give.<\/p>\n

Later, when all is quiet, the sad juggler offers the only thing he knows and loves to the statue of The Virgin and something wonderful happens\u2026<\/p>\n

Deftly deconstructed and wondrously appreciated in a Foreword<\/em> by comics and cartooning Titan Jules Feiffer, The Juggler of Our Lady<\/strong> is a masterpiece of graphic dexterity and an utterly beguiling experience no lover of the storytelling arts should be without.
\n\"\"
\nText and illustrations \u00a9 1997 R. O. Blechman. Foreword \u00a9 1997 2015 Jules Feiffer. Introduction \u00a9 1980 Maurice Sendak. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n

Check out www.doverpublications.com<\/a>, internet retailers or local comic or bookshop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By R. O. Blechman with a Foreword by Jules Feiffer and Introduction by Maurice Sendak (Dover Comics & Graphic Novels\/Dover Children\u2019s) ISBN: 978-0-486-80030-1 (HB\/Digital edition) Win\u2019s Christmas Gift Recommendation: An Immaculate Confection\u2026 10\/10 Christmas is not just about shiny new toys and sparkly knitwear. It\u2019s also about unearthing or revisiting old, beloved and – in … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “The Juggler of Our Lady – The Classic Christmas Story”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[90,97,156],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cartooning-classics","category-kids-all-ages","category-world-classics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-7zP","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29129"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29129\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29134,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29129\/revisions\/29134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}