Sunday, August 29, 2010

Jakob Jensen's Imperial ABCs

While I was in L.A. I visited Stuart Ng Books, which specializes in animation and illustration. So many cool books in a small place!

But the book that grabbed me enough to buy it was a picture book (meant for adults, I assume) called My First Imperial ABC, published in 2007.

The creator is Jakob Jensen, a Danish-born animator with DreamWorks Animation. It's his only book, and it's a howl of exquisite anger.

Cover of My First Imperial ABCs by Jakob Jensen
Study that dark flag carefully for details (click on it or any other image to see it larger), and think of Winston Churchill's aphorism, "I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down to us. Pigs treat us as equals."

Disheveled pig watching TV
A is for Activism

Kid-pigs packed into a school bus while a rich pig-kid in a stretch limo drives past
E is for Equality

Walled city with a small truck outside the slightly open back door, which is labeled Service Entrance
I is for Immigration Laws

Statue of Liberty as a pig, surrounded by a fence, with a sign saying Closed until further notice
L is for Liberty

Three pigs with flags across their mouths like gags
P is for Patriotism

A male and female pilgrim-style pig, standing happily atop a pile of dead Indian pigs
V is for Values

As Jensen notes in the acknowledgements, "Thank you to everyone who helped and encouraged me during the making of this book. You know who you are (unfortunately, so does the FBI, CIA, INS, IRS, etc.....Look behind you!)."

No comments: