Yes, it looks just like her
December 9, 2005 9:28 AM   Subscribe

My Grandmother's Funeral - Quiet and melancholy comic - by cartoonist Nick Mullins.
posted by Peter H (25 comments total)
 
Great comic -- it hits the sweet spot of being emotional but not overly sentimental.
posted by brain_drain at 9:44 AM on December 9, 2005


Nice.
posted by ColdChef at 9:45 AM on December 9, 2005


[this is good]
posted by edgeways at 10:08 AM on December 9, 2005


"There's no one else who knows these stories."

I recognized that about my mom a couple of years ago. I made her get out all her photo albums and tell me the story behind every picture. It was a fascinating compilation of stories. I had the foresight to set up a video camera on a tripod looking over her shoulder - to identify which photos she was talking about (later scanned and archived digitally) - and I now have four hours of non-stop stories of my family, and I know my kids will be able to hear them when they are older. I feel rich. I would highly recommend to anyone that they do something similar. You can't go back and do it when it's too late.
posted by JParker at 10:22 AM on December 9, 2005


Why would I care about her observations on burying her grandma? Or about her wider relations with her family? Or about her studies? This was even more self-indulgent and unnecessary than a personal blog.
posted by Mayor Curley at 10:28 AM on December 9, 2005


Or about your comment?
posted by iamck at 10:31 AM on December 9, 2005


Thanks for the link, Peter.. I'm sure that Curly didn't find it as interesting as the content of all of his outstanding posts (the gay nazi post comes to mind), but some of us were touched by the story, ignore that twit.

The backstory on this is interesting as well (link is at the bottom of the last frame of the cartoon)...
posted by HuronBob at 10:39 AM on December 9, 2005


Loved it. I lost my Grammy 2 months ago, and I miss how she'd answer the phone, or hold on to my arm with a death-grip when we'd be walking somewhere.
posted by smcniven at 10:47 AM on December 9, 2005


Good link, Peter H, thanks.
JParker, you're 100% right. I did the album thing with my grandma this summer, and it was wonderful, and made saying goodbye a little easier, in some ways.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:21 AM on December 9, 2005


I didn't remember writing that many commas.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:23 AM on December 9, 2005


Speaking of self indulgent and unnecessary, how's that blog going for you there Mayor Curley?
posted by substrate at 11:26 AM on December 9, 2005


Speaking of self indulgent and unnecessary, how's that blog going for you there Mayor Curley?

Which blog? There's a website in my profile, but there's nothing about me in it.
posted by Mayor Curley at 11:56 AM on December 9, 2005


Nice story. My own grandmother's funeral was three days ago, so this hit pretty close to home. I must say, I was glad to have had a far better relationship with mine than the main character had with hers.

As for JParker's idea of going through family albums. Great idea. My uncle did that with her a while back and said he was going to videotape it.

I tried a different approach. I took all the digital images I had taken of my grandmother for the last five years at all the family gatherings, dumped them into iPhoto, and made a slideshow of them. The slideshow got synched up to an iPod video. At the funeral, the grandkids all appreciated watching the slideshow (the older people thought the screen was too small). Yesterday, I added music, used iPhoto's 'Ken Burns' effect, and burned it all to a DVD. Last night the whole family got together and watched it at her house on a television screen. It was nice to see her during happier, healthier times. Almost everyone was in tears, but it seemed like it was very cathartic. A few people came up to me and said how much they appreciated seeing those images and remembering her that way.
posted by fubar at 12:11 PM on December 9, 2005


>resists the joke to call fubar and JParker's efforts out as petty valueless sub-blog self-indulgance<
posted by Peter H at 12:27 PM on December 9, 2005


Wow. I needed that. Thanks.
posted by xammerboy at 3:36 PM on December 9, 2005


Thank you, Peter.
posted by deborah at 3:58 PM on December 9, 2005


>resists the joke to call fubar and JParker's efforts out as petty valueless sub-blog self-indulgance

>Tames urge to post snarky meta-referential riposte to pointless bilge, ineptly concealed as parenthetical aside.<
posted by fubar at 5:06 PM on December 9, 2005


>That last comment, btw, was the Peach Schnapps talking.<
posted by fubar at 5:20 PM on December 9, 2005


Why would I care about her observations on burying her grandma? Or about her wider relations with her family? Or about her studies? This was even more self-indulgent and unnecessary than a personal blog.
posted by Mayor Curley at 10:28 AM PST on December 9


Not a big reader of novels, eh, Curley?
posted by Optimus Chyme at 5:40 PM on December 9, 2005


>That last comment, btw, was the Peach Schnapps talking.

>Ha, It made me laugh either way.

just so it's clear i was making fun of Curley's comment; I obviously think a part of grief is made easier through whatever makes it easier. - Also, I like Curley. Was a bit doofus of him, though, ha!
posted by Peter H at 6:55 PM on December 9, 2005


Once again, Mayor Curley decides to derail a good thread by throwing in a pointless snark, after which most of the comments are a reaction to that instead of the excellent link. Well done, Mayor. Now why don't you go trip an old lady trying to cross the street?
posted by languagehat at 5:58 AM on December 10, 2005


It's the pretty standard MeFi reaction to getting one's ass handed to him: pretend as if you never posted in the thread in the first place. We have a famous military historian who also benchpresses 600 ounds and once saved the princess of Monaco from Nazi biker rapists who does the same thing.

The comic was smart and sweet and it made me think a lot about my late grandparents. I don't see anything so terrible about that.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 10:30 AM on December 10, 2005


Thank you for directing me to the lovely comic. You posted the link on my birthday, December 9th, which is, coincidently, the day my Paternal Grandmother died, in 1998, so I enjoyed the synchronicity of that. I always think of her this time of year.
The art was poignant; I liked the device of the figures hanging alone in space with white background when they felt alone. The art reminded me a little of a strange Graphic Novel about adolescent love and painful childhood I bought called "Blankets"; sadly I don't remember the author's name. I'll seek it out and post again when I get it. It's worth a look for those who DID like "Grandmother's funeral"...
posted by Today at 11:11 AM on December 11, 2005


Hey, I looked it up. The author's name is Craig Thompson. The book is actually called "Blankets, A Graphic Novel." Google it and you will be able to find some links. Check it out.
posted by Today at 2:46 PM on December 11, 2005


Great comics. Thanks for the link, Peter.

I'm surprised that no one seems to have pointed out to Curley that the piece is a work of fiction. How this qualifies as any more self-indulgent than any other art informed by personal experiences is somewhat beyond me.
posted by lx at 3:32 AM on December 12, 2005


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