New Book by D+Q Founder
by BK Munn
Today sees the launch of Chris Oliveros’ long-awaited graphic novel, The Envelope Manufacturer. Oliveros, the founder and for 25 years the visionary head of publisher Drawn and Quarterly, also has a secret side-career as a cartoonist himself. The first chapter of this book was published many years ago, but the day-to-day demands of heading up one of the most prestigious comics houses in the world has kept the project side-lined until now, a year after Oliveros handed the reins of his company over to his second-in-command in order to work on his comics full-time.
Billed as “An account of obsolete machinery and outmoded business planning,” the book plots “the hardships and gradual disintegration of the career of the owner of an independent small business.” So, semi-autobiographical?
Displaying impressive chops, Oliveros has a charming old-world cartooning style honed by years of immersion in the work of the world’s greatest graphic novels. The book is being launched at Librairie D+Q, the bookstore Oliver’s founded to compliment his publishing efforts.
Thursday, January 14
7 PM – 9 PM
Librairie Drawn & Quarterly
211 Bernard Ouest, Montreal, Quebec H2T 2K5
Facebook event page
More from the publisher:
“The book begins as the head of the manufacturing company is already deep in financial straits: he struggles to deal with a series of late payments and dwindling orders and finds ways to keep his company running by perilously deferring certain invoices. Ultimately, the pressures of his role begin to have an effect on him psychologically; he starts to talk to himself and occasionally cannot distinguish the difference between reality and his imaginings. Even his personal life suffers, as his wife becomes disillusioned with the detached, dispassionate man he has become.
Set in the mid-twentieth century, just before the end of the period when most goods were still produced domestically, The Envelope Manufacturer chronicles the gradual demise of a small company as it struggles to adapt to a changing economic landscape.”