It sometimes seems sad to me how eagerly artists put themselves in boxes with regard to their chosen medium. "I'm a painter," one will say, and laugh if you try to talk to them about sculpture; "I'm a writer," say the writers, and they won't entertain the possibility of adding a drawing or two. Maybe it's because we're so nervous about doing a good job that we are afraid to branch out into more unfamiliar territory. But the fact remains that visual aids can work tremendously in some modern fiction, particularly as graphic novels and comics become more mainstream and more literary. Artist/writers like Art Speigelman should remind us that excellent writing can be greatly enhanced and can challenged when mixed with striking, moving images. (Read more »)