Monologues for the Coming Plague

AUTHOR: Nilsen, Anders

ARTIST: Anders Nilsen (illustrator)

PUBLISHER: Fantagraphics Books

FIRST BOOK PUBLICATION: 2006

Publication History

Monologues for the Coming Plague represents the contents of two of Anders Nilsen’s sketchbooks and depicts a series of sketches that he began in an airport while waiting for a plane. The sketches were collected in the volume entitled Monologues for the Coming Plague, which was first published by Fantagraphics Books in 2006. Prior to their publication in this volume, some of these sketches had appeared in other works and collections. As Nilsen notes in his postscript, “The Wilderness, Part 2” originally appeared in Kramers Ergot, issue 5, while “The Mediocrity Principle” first appeared in Blood Orange, issue3, and was excerpted in Best American Nonrequired Reading, 2005. “Job Hunt” first appeared in The Chicago Reader’syear-end issue, 2003. Additional sketches were first published on Nilsen’s blog, The Monologuist.

Plot

While the book does not present an overarching plot in the usual sense, the various sketched vignettes each follow a story line of sorts. In “Introduction,” a woman is spoken to by the bird she is casually feeding. The bird’s utterances are hackneyed phrases that seem to be quite random, though the recurrence of these trite phrases highlights their inanity and casts a harsh light on social niceties and the uselessness of many social conventions and icons. The next section, entitled “Semiotics,” diverges from this repetitive pattern and introduces two new characters who, through an apparently banal discussion of semiotics, provide insight into contemporary language and the human search for meaning.

One of the book’s most compelling mini-narratives is the story that evolves through the sketches in “Pittsburgh.” In this section, Scribble-Face and the Other Guy are depicted standing side-by-side, motionless and largely expressionless. Through the speech bubbles around them, and through Scribble-Face’s constantly morphing head, a story evolves in which the two characters are traveling together to Pittsburgh, though neither is in a condition to drive. Scribble-Head is so tired that he begins hallucinating and then falls asleep at the wheel, crashing the car. Unseen help eventually arrives, but it may be too late for those in the (invisible) car, as they no longer respond.

The story lines of most other sections follow a similar trajectory: Through a series of sketches and related commentary, Nilsen presents a set of ideas and imagery that are variations on a theme and that provide fodder for the reader’s separate contemplation. The book does not contain a single unified story in the traditional sense: There is no beginning, middle, or discernible end, and the vignettes, though frequently interrelated, do not together form a story arc. Nevertheless, the sketches in this collection, taken together, encapsulate a set of images and social commentaries that clarify a cohesive conceptual body.

Characters

•The Bird Lady is featured in the “Introduction” and appears elsewhere throughout the text as well. In each sketch, she is spoken to by a small bird that she is feeding. The phrases uttered by the birds are most often examples of the clichéd social niceties that permeate everyday conversation, though frequently with a slightly absurdist twist.

•Scribble-Face is one of a pair of characters first introduced in the section entitled “Semiotics.” With just a scribble for a head and a body that is otherwise largely featureless, Scribble-Face is a minimalistic character who utters profundities without fully understanding their meaning or practical application. He has a dinosaur in his pocket and is eventually dismembered by it.

•The Other Guy, Scribble-Face’s partner, is also largely featureless. Though he has a face, his expression rarely changes, and his features are only roughly sketched. A typical Everyman, he serves as a supporting character who listens and responds to Scribble-Face’s monologues.

•The Cubic Man is a roughly sketched figure vaguely resembling Gumby. He first appears toward the book’s end in the section entitled “The Mediocrity Principle,” in which he announces and is ultimately overcome by his aspirations for mediocrity.

•The Blank-Faced Man picks up the “Mediocrity Principle” where the Cubic Man left off and tries to sell the principle to those he meets, including Scribble-Face. He cannot impart the principle and ends up alone, featureless, and seemingly contemplative.

Artistic Style

Nilsen is widely renowned for his masterful pen-and-ink art. His return in this book to rough-hewn sketches seems to belie his artistic ability. This book is, for Nilsen and readers alike, largely an exercise in stylistic experimentation. Though many readers struggle at first encounter to appreciate the starkness of the illustrations, Nilsen’s stylistic choices are the essence of the book and ultimately provide the richness of the reading experience. In a postscript, the author notes that he took the creative liberty of moving some sketches around for purposes of continuity. In certain sketches, mistakes and edits are roughly scratched out and are therefore hidden but are not discounted altogether. These stylistic choices, both in text and imagery, comprise the entirety of the book—there is nothing else. From this nihilism grows a profound examination of contemporary sociocultural experience and modern-day communication. Without color, without background, without the minute-by-minute bombardment of images experienced in modern Western society, communication is stripped of its meaninglessness and is pared down to its essence.

Nilsen’s textual design supports his message on all levels; his journal-like format reassures readers with the comfort of the familiar. The reader has the impression of being let in on the artist’s innermost thoughts, and of being privy to a stream of consciousness that most are not brazen enough to share. Here the reader has the opportunity to peer into the sketchbook of a renowned artist, to see his designs and ideas at their genesis. The structure of the book itself supports this perception, presenting Nilsen’s sketches on two different types of paper within the same volume. The paper used in the two parts of the volume represents the rough brown paper of the first of two consecutive sketchbooks, and the white paper represents the pages of the second. The texture of these pages yields a tactile experience for the reader, making up for some of the perceived sensory deprivation of the unadorned ink sketches.

Themes

Nilsen’s stream-of-consciousness sketches address a broad range of themes including pop culture, social stigma, politics, religion, philosophy, language, and relationships. Through absurdist and minimalist sketches, Nilsen renders a striking likeness of modern American society and many of its identifying elements. For example, in a challenging exposé of the apparent ills of Western capitalism, Nilsen sketches a scenario in which Buddha is shot. Though Nilsen does not provide any overt commentary, the juxtaposed images of Buddha and the gun create a statement in themselves. In another example, Nilsen’s rendering of a figure practicing highly exaggerated yoga poses, and ultimately attaining freedom simply by envisioning it, conveys the author’s commentary on such ideology through imagery alone. In this manner, the minimalist style serves to eliminate distractions and allow readers to focus on the specific details that convey thematic meaning.

In other segments of the book, thematic elements are conveyed through dialogue rather than imagery. Again, the minimalist style and the careful use of page space help to impart specific ideas. By juxtaposing phrases that seem at odds with each other—phrases that tend to blend into the background behind the daily onslaught of language and imagery—the author is able to highlight significant social absurdities that may otherwise be overlooked. As characters recite lines from advertisements or other inane phrases, Nilsen gently mocks the lack of utility of much daily communication. Though many of his sketches feature dialogue and imagery in support of each other, in all cases the minimalist style serves to underscore his message and accentuate the themes upon which he touches.

Impact

Artistically and philosophically, Nilsen draws heavily on ideals from earlier eras, including the absurdist movement of the nineteenth century and the minimalism movement of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. However, his stylistic choices seem inspired more directly by the elegant simplicity of some of the texts on which he grew up. As a child, Nilsen was an avid reader of the comic book series The Adventures of Tintin (1929–1976), and Monologues for the Coming Plague reflects a similar lighthearted humor but with a more mature perspective on various sociocultural nuances.

Nilsen’s work has also been largely influenced by other members of the Holy Consumption, a Chicago-based group of comics artists—including Jeffrey Brown, John Hankiewicz, and Paul Hornschemeier—who blog about and share their current projects. Nilsen’s work has influenced the work of these artists as well. Furthermore, the minimalism and absurdism that characterize the sketches in this volume, and in Nilsen’s 2009 volume entitled Monologues for Calculating the Density of Black Holes, are becoming increasingly evident among the works of other artists, both online and in print.

Also of note is the role this volume (and of Nilsen’s work in general) plays in overcoming the stereotype of illustrated texts being for children only. As Art Spiegelman did in Maus: A Survivor’s Tale—My Father Bleeds History (1986) and Maus II: A Survivor’s Tale—And Here My Troubles Began (1991), Nilsen has combined the comic book and graphic novel formats with themes of a far more mature nature than many tend to expect of such works. Additionally, by drawing together themes of philosophy and literature and the graphic novel format, Nilsen’s illustrated exploration of these profound themes has helped to bridge any remaining gap between graphic novels and other literary genres. Though his work may be for a niche audience, in targeting an audience beyond the general readership of comics and graphic novels, he has opened the door for further exploration of the genre by both readers and artists.

Further Reading

Burns, Charles. Black Hole (2008).

Nilsen, Anders. Dogs and Water (2004).

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Monologues for Calculating the Density of Black Holes (2009).

Bibliography

Celayo, Armando. “Monologues for the Coming Plague.” Review of Monologues for the Coming Plague, by Anders Nilsen. World Literature Today 81, no. 2 (March, 2007): 70.

Nilsen, Anders. “An Interview with Anders Nilsen.” Interview by Matthew Baker. Nashville Review (April 1, 2011). http://www.vanderbilt.edu/english/nashvillereview/archives/1902.