#James Albon

[guy60660]

© James Albon | Financial Times

[jeffstern]

James Albon - The Delicacy

I got this for a birthday present, and found it highly enjoyable. The panel below, however, felt a bit like a personal attack - though I know it is true, I can’t help it. I’m an indoor kind of guy.

[kaithonks]

So I’ve had some Thoughts about The Delicacy by James Albon

I am going to do my best to not spoil The Delicacy because, while I don't find the twist that shocking, I think kick is how the character handled that twist. And ultimately, how it all circles back into the stories themes of growth. While I could like to go down that talking point, there is another avenue of this story that fascinates me, and that's the names.

Starting right off with the main brother being named Tulip, and Rowan kind of tells you a lot about their mother. But it also gives you a good clue about who these brothers are and how they will grow. Rowan is a type of smaller tree that is very cold-hardy. It's also been called the "wayfarer's tree," as supposedly it prevented people from getting lost. Translating this into the character of Rowan, you can see all these traits. He is the farmer between the brothers, and of the two, he's the most stable; he knows who he is. He, like a tree, is a stability his brother relies on. And even when Rowan struggles with his relationship between his mother and brother, he doesn't really lose his way and recognizes the problems within his family.

Tulip, on the other hand. A tulip is a perennial, meaning it goes dormant before it blooms again, typically once a year. Unlike a tree that is always standing, a tulip flower will lose its flower steam and leaves before going dormant. Dying but being reborn year after year. Tulips have also had a lot of different means depending on the color of the bloom. And we do follow Tulip through his ups and downs of starting and growing his restaurant. But it's also important to look at the name he picked for himself, Danny, which, coming from Daniel, means "God is my judge." It feels like a very clever little nod given what happens towards the end.

Another thing is in the narration; it never refers to Tulip as Danny, to the point I would forget he even called himself that. The names are no less important, especially as the mushroom that starts everything is called the Rowan mushroom. Again, I think this is a very clever nod to what Rowan's fate is given where the mushrooms come from.

So for a story about growth, I feel the need to draw attention to their names because the names are part of roots, even when we change them. They are the basis of who we are and who we will be as people. And through the story that while Tulip calls himself Danny and other people call him Danny, narration he is still Tulip, and he still aligns within that characterization. Always looking impressive, but always need to die out. And Tulip doesn't really let himself 'go dormant.' He, through the story, is constantly pushing forward, leaving people behind and creating an unhealthy growth for himself. He forgot, but the narration never did, and so neither could the reader. It's a small but important one, especially in the contrast of Rowan, who, while he moved with Tulip to the man land, still found himself stable and was able to eventually realize a toxicity in mother and brother and do what he thought was right. Rowan remains true to himself and stable.

The Delicacy is full of little, careful details like this, not just in it's narration but in it's art as well. A favorite little moment is when Rowan returns to his mother's house and sleeps on her couch. In the background, there are eyes as the narration talks about his rightful place in the cosmos, but on the next page, Tulip is wearing the eyes. Now with the narration, one could look at that as Tulip being in his right place. However, the narration frames that as "pushing" Rowan to his rightful place, but with Tulip wearing a force that is supposed to be guilding him, it comes across more as taking it as a burdan to wear on his back instead of trying to follow it again, going back to that cycle of growth.

I think it's also important to touch on the title of the story. It's easy to just assume the The Deilcacy is just refering to the food sense of the word "deilcacy," meaning a rare or highly desired food. And in the context of the story being the Rowan mushroom. But to expand, I think the story is also touching on delicacy in it's meaning of something being delicate or easily breakable. Perphaes the delicacy of life.

I really enjoyed The Deilcacy, and I do recommend it. The art is lovely, and the story is great. And while I wasn't shocked by how the mushrooms grew, the story still gave me a lot to chew on. It was just a fun read.

[afabstract]

A Shining Beacon - Graphic Novel Review

Francesca Saxon is hired by the government to paint a mural that would be "A Shining Beacon" for the nation. What starts as an honorable task spirals into an existential nightmare for the artist.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4 out of 5. Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram) “In honor of your talents, we’d like to give you a carte blanche! Complete control. Bear in mind, it will be a national icon, extolling our virtues. Anything is acceptable. Except of course, anything unacceptable.” If you are a fan of art, grim dystopian fiction and paradoxes, “A Shining Beacon” by James Albon could be just the…

[downthetubes]

Exhibitions galore at this year’s Lakes International Comic Art Festival – and some late line-up changes

The Lakes International Comic Art Festival has confirmed its exhibition plans for this year’s Festival in Bowness-on-Windermere – and announced some guest changes and additions - including Jenny Ryan from "The Chase"

The Lakes International Comic Art Festival has confirmed its exhibition plans for this year’s Festival (Friday 29th September – Sunday 1st October 2023) in Bowness-on-Windermere – and announced some guest changes and additions to the previously announced line-up of over sixty international comic creators, including an appearance by Jenny Ryan from ITV’s The Chase. Three exhibitions have been…

[fcaruana]

Alex: Franco explained to us what an argentinian Christmas was like earlier today James: How does it work? Franco: It's- Alex: This is a 45 minute answer by the way Franco: NO BUT-

[romantic-stylezz]

The real Williams crime was making me attached to Franco Colapinto when he only has 9 races and no seat for next year

[livefastdriveyoung]

Let's talk about Logan.

It's most definitely not his fault. He wasn't ready. He isn't ready. Maybe if he had had another year, we would be looking at the future of F1, but a combination of James and Williams American Sponsors left Logan with one opportunity that he was never going to get ever again.

It's devastating, and it's tragic, and it is reality.

Logan Sargeant deserved a real, fair chance in F1. Williams wasn't that. Not with the TP crooning about the first driver constantly, about how the first driver is going to be the one the team focuses on.

But he gives Logan a second chance.

Or, rather, based on what has been coming out of late, the American Sponsors give him another chance. And in retaliation, the TP spends the entirety of the rest of the season essentially making it clear to everyone that while Logan has the second seat, he was never James's first choice.

So be it.

But what the Williams team weren't prepared for is the fact that the American Sponsors weren't wrong for keeping Logan in the seat for another year. Just on here and even on Instagram (screw X, the demon child), the support, if anything, grew.

Because you talk about dignity and then you take away his car.

You talk about skill and then the driver you replace him with doesn't score points.

You talk about talent, but the driver you're replacing him with has been in Red Bulls and Ferraris. One would hope that he is skilled.

You don't talk about the fact that the whole world is watching you publicly embarrass someone whom you yourself say you have a "duty of care" for.

You don't talk about the fact that maybe Logan would have stood a chance if the Feedback actually came from you instead of the pretty little sentence on the radio at the end.

So unfortunately, but realistically, Logan Sargeant is out of F1.

But his legacy will live on. He is the first American to score points in 30 years. He is the reason people on this website and across the media were able to clock that Mr. Nice Guy is just a very good act.

He's the reason so many Americans did start tuning in.

He's one of the reasons that the conversation about the way drivers are treated in this sport is a conversation that isn't going away.

It's not the legacy he had in mind, but it is an important one.

So thank you, Logan, for paving the way. You're in the record books, and we appreciate what it took for you to get there.

[bigbandithewada]

Drawing request for friend: the Williams family

A late Williams Christmas: running into your drunk colleagues when you just want some cake

[sainzofthetimez]

Why are people confused as to why the Williams cars are struggling?? They’re being held together with duct tape, spit, prayers, and the last bit of James Vowles’ dignity. Like let’s not be shocked they’re shit let’s be grateful they’re fucking running

[yourmissionistofinishyourwips]

Ferrari and Williams are both definitely cursed but in very different ways

Like Ferrari somehow invoked the wrath of an ancient entity or was cursed by the gods for their hubris during the Schumacher era. The team is consumed by the curse and in turn consumes the drivers, e.g. Massa, Alonso, Vettel, Leclerc, Sainz. Those affected slowly lose their souls in an ancient and terrible way. The entire affair is a tragedy.

( Kimi Räikkönen was of course immune to the curse, for reasons extremely frustrating to the ancient curse-giver.)

Williams however, is experiencing some sort of cobbled together voodoo or witchcraft, purchased from some hag in a shed in the Appalachian mountains or a witch doctor in an alley somewhere. It’s not concerned with long-term suffering or legacies tainted; it's just inflicting the most damage as possible as soon as possible. There’s no all-powerful being and their wrath invoked; this is sheer human pettiness. Someone Kyle Kirkwood has inflicted this because of some spiteful grudge Williams’s treatment of Logan Sargeant and is cackling. The cars are just falling apart at the seams and giving up the ghost with zero provocation, and when they aren’t, Albon or Colapinto immediately bins it into the wall. Everyone at Williams is experiencing the horrors. No one—not the cruel team principal, the teammate who remains, the replacement, the unsupportive garage, or the poor mechanics—is spared. The entire affair is kinda funny.

[anepiphany]

these two have one pose and one pose only and it’s 🙂 & 😁✌️

[formulaheart]

james vowles: bye👋logan, thnx👍

alex albon: FAREWELL😭 my BROTHER🥰 LOGAN🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸YOURE GOING TO DO AMAZING😍 SWEETIE I MISS YOU😔 I LOVE YOU❤️🫶

[lotuslise]

someone give this child a hug please

[afabstract]

Her Bark & Her Bite - Book Review

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram) “Her Bark & Her Bite” by James Albon is less than 100 pages long but made me dizzy within its first few pages because of its chaotic artwork. But the only reason I got this book was because I loved reading “The Delicacy” by the author and enjoyed the artwork too. However, the style in this book is very different. It’s a burst of pencil strokes that look like…

[downthetubes]

Comic Art Europe Guests revealed for Lakes International Comic Art Festival 2023 – and the debut of a “Festival Fringe”

Five more incredible comic creators are joining the Lakes Festival's line-up for this year’s annual event in Bowness-on-Windermere