Hall of Best Knowledge

by Ray Fenwick
Ray Fenwick has pioneered his own medium of storytelling, one best described as "typographical comics." Hall of Best Knowledge is presented as a handsome, personal journal written by an unnamed voice, referred to only as "The Author." Little is known about him. He clearly fashions himself a genius, writing with a faux-aristocratic air, and it is presumably his belief in his own genius that leads him to want to share his knowledge with the world. It becomes obvious to the reader early on that all is not as it seems; only at the end does the picture become completely clear. Hall of Best Knowledge is part graphic novel, part art object, part satire, part puzzle. The slow unfolding of the author and his story builds humor with each page, creating a peculiar examination of the idea of genius and the problems that arise in the search and transmission of knowledge. HOBK will be a handsomely designed and packaged book, presented as a found journal, with rounded fore edges, an elastic band to hold the book closed, and other production touches to further solidify and give form to the concept of the book.

Ray Fenwick is an artist, illustrator and typographic thing-maker living in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. A former improv comedian and theater school dropout, Ray now occupies himself making drawings, comics and patterns for people like Blue Q, CMT, If'n Books, Nickelodeon, Urban Outfitters, and others. He regularly appears in Fantagraphics' flagship anthology, MOME.