Mam Tor™ Publishing is proud to announce Lap of the Gods, published in collaboration with Kymera Comics in France.
Lap of the Gods is a 32 page graphic novel collecting rare work by Sharp: short stories, comics and artworks with a distinctive voice and inspired by the European masters of SF, limited to only 500 copies.
I have no idea what people are going to make of my long-term labour of love, "Lap of the Gods". It seems to me that much of the work that inspired it finds little currency in today's marketplace. There seems to be an obsession with commerciality that is sweeping the globe. You can't help thinking that Warhol's observation that every one would be famous for fifteen minutes is happening now, and that it's the "fame" itself that is providing the goal, and not the medium - whatever that may be.
When I was younger I didn't think in terms of creation being sold into new media, such as films or toys. When I discovered the works of Moebius - "Airtight Garage", "Arzach", "The Horny Goof", "Is Man Good", and so on - I didn't think "man, that would make a great movie!" It was an incredible piece of work just as a comic! These pieces had not been conceived as commercial work, but as PURE work. They were experimental, sometimes shocking, sometimes funny. They were dreamscapes made lucid for us, and - for me at least - they were recognisable as such. They objectified my own dreamscapes. They felt honest, un-contrived and fresh. They were flawed and brilliant, stripped bare and brave.
"Lap of the Gods" is not a complete work. There are gaps, there are inconsistencies, and there aren't always clear storylines. You'll have to work at it a little to find satisfaction, as I did with "Arzach". In fact the biggest crime Moebius ever committed as an artist was to go back to "Arzach" and create a myth for it, and a new chapter to explain everything. I saw this in a Dark Horse collection from the late 80's, early 90's, and it gave me answers I didn't want, as well as trivialising episodes I thought had great symbolic power. It felt like Rembrant saying "no, that's nothing special. It's just me with a fat red nose." So I make no attempt to explain what it all means. But it DOES mean something - and hopefully different things to different people. Questioning oneself, and ones world, is always a good thing. Learning to look with our own eyes, and not to be spoon-fed every morsel, every little scrap. We're not idiots, we can take part in the creative process. We can be the equal of the creator.
I hope I am able to do more of this kind of work, and that it finds a voice - and I hope this not just for myself, but because I believe that what was being done those many decades ago in France was incredibly important. French comics had a voice that resonated across the globe. It was a revolution, no matter how short lived. Sadly it seems forgotten for the most part, but it changed my outlook completely and irrevocably. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. So, as I said, I've no idea what people will think of "Lap of the Gods", but I hope, at the very least, they take time to look at it. And if they haven't already, they should go out and buy some Moebius, or Druillet, or Bilal, and see what they've been missing..."
Cheers as ever,
