“BEAUTY
AND THE BEAST: Fantastic Deep Space Romances with the Stars
of Art Nihilism” –
an original graphic novel by Joy Rip – is a totally
new and different retelling of the famous fairy tale set deep
in outer space. In this surprising
total reinvention of the classic, Joy Rip spins a haunting graphic
tale ripped from the seamy side of the art world and its players.
Unlike
the fairy tale, this graphic novel is more true-to-life, less
heroic.
There is no noble savage. There is no majestic, magnificent-
looking beast to sympathize with. Why should there be anything
to make the real cruelty, terrors and horrors of the world easier
to stomach? This is not a children's book. This is a fairy tale
for adults, those entering adulthood or those in a sad hurry
to grow up. The world this graphic novel paints will be brutally
familiar. Not because it resembles the familiar fairy tale,
but because it chillingly resembles our own.
"Beauty
is nothing other than the promise of happiness." ~
Stendhal
“BEAUTY
AND THE BEAST."
Don't let the well-known title fool you. This new graphic novel
borrows nothing from the old children's tale beyond the title.
This is a completely new telling of the age-old encounter and
fight between the beautiful and the horrific. For one, this
account of the ancient story about the struggle between beauty
and ugliness does not necessarily have a happy ending.
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Before
man understood the difference between good versus evil,
he understood the crucial difference between pleasure
and pain, happiness and sadness, the happy ending versus
the unhappy ending. It is the age-old difference between
triumph and tragedy, success and failure, life and death.
Before
man understood the difference between right vs. wrong,
man knew what he liked and did not like.
And
that one primal piece of knowledge makes all the difference
in the world. For what causes us pleasure and pain determines
what we like and do not like. What causes us pleasure
and pain determines how we see the world.
So
what's wrong with this picture? What don't you like about
it? What doesn't make sense?
What does? What would? How would you describe it? How
would you explain it? How would you paint your picture
of this or any world? What would you change?
•
Yes, what would you change if you could change the world?
•
What would you change if you could only change your
world?
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Is there a difference? |
The
story of beauty versus ugliness is even older than the story
of good versus evil.
It is no accident that one of the most powerful passages in
the New Testament is The
Beatitudes that begin the Sermon On the Mount.
Like the Book of Job from the Old Testament, all
moral tales are about moral beauty, such as the beauty of faith
or grace. And it is never merely the story of how Beauty struggles
with the ugliness of sin but rather how Beauty struggles with
horror. How we act in the face of our own terror and horror
at life's ugly pain and suffering is much more revealing than
any story about sin. Thus if you must tell a story about sin,
make it a horror story. Horror is a more hauntingly primal tale,
a more powerful story. Tales it tells about beauty have more
power to hunt, haunt, and hold.
Illusionist
turned horrorist Joy Rip has this bit of dramaturgic advice
for anyone attempting to paint a picture of this or any other
world... and for all the world's would-be storytellers who desire
to craft a beautiful tale. Forget the happy ending. Abandon
your empty promises of heaven. Open a portal to hell and push
your heroine Beauty through it. The tales she'll bring back
with her will be far more compelling and memorable than anything
you can imagine. That is, if she makes it back alive.
Beauty
and the Beast...
is not merely the story of how a girl named Beauty deals with
horror; it is the story of how we use beauty to deal with all
life's horrors. It is the story of how we use beautiful
illusions to handle the horror of being ugly or the horror of
being treated ugly by our fellow man and by life. How man uses
beauty to cope with the horror of his own life is the essence
of the primal scene. Whether that primal scene be innocence
wrestling with the truth or bodies wrestling in bed, Joy Rip's
graphic novel practices what the old fairy tale preaches about
the possibility of transforming the beastly into the beautiful.
But it does so only on its own terms, as it paints how we deal
with life's horrors... through art.
“Beauty and the Beast”
– an original graphic novel by Joy Rip
–
is based on the true story of an up-and-coming artist brutally
murdered by a disillusioned fan.
At its heart this graphic novel is about the world’s replacement
of religious culture by man-made culture such as art (and science,
technology), and the further displacement of both religious
and artistic culture by celebrity culture. If it is all indeed
heading towards the global domination of culture by a worldwide
celebrity culture, then is it long before everyone makes a mad
power grab for the public eye? Will everyone play their part
in updating that archetypal mythology of the lone priests in
the woods stalking one another to the death for dominance, everyone
becoming rival global celebrities competing to the death for
ever greater wealth, power and fame? All anyone knows is it
is ancient. It is happening everywhere. And it has been going
on for a long time.
Beast spoke to Beauty. “A
knack for becoming famous is the only real ability an artist
needs to become successful in this brave new world. For fame
can exist without talent. And talent can exist without fame.
But in an attention economy, where everyone/everything competes
for attention, and where capitalizing on attention is the name
of the game, fame will always be far more important than talent."
Beast paused... "The most
important talent to possess is the gift for getting noticed,
attracting attention, achieving fame."
Art, nihilism, and art nihilism are central
themes of this graphic novel by Joy Rip.
What is the meaning and importance of art? What is the nature
of success in the art world when face-to-face with art nihilism?
What is the nature of any sort of success in life when confronted
by the bigger picture of nihilism in general? "Fame
is a bullet with your name on it..." portends a
message on a stark white art gallery wall. Fame
is an empty promise. Life is brief. Death is long. Unless...
immortality is no fairy tale. Take a look at this unusual and
surprising comic book epic by Joy Rip about a chance encounter
between a girl named Beauty and an ugly artist called the Beast...
and see for yourself!
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