YOU'LL NEVER KNOW BOOK I; A GOOD AND DECENT MAN. [You Will Never Know; A Graphic Memoir. Book One-1.]

Tyler, C. [Carol Ann Tyler]. [Charles William Tyler, 1919-2015; Hannah Elizabeth Yates Tyler, 1919-2012.]

ISBN 10: 1606991442 / ISBN 13: 9781606991442

Published by Seattle, WA: Fantagraphics Books, March 2009., 2009

Book One only. First printing (as stated upon copyright page). Author association copy - INSCRIBED, SIGNED, AND DATED BY C. TYLER'S PARENTS - CHARLES W. TYLER AND HANNAH TYLER. Unpaged. Hardcover: H 26.5cm x L 31.25cm. No dust jacket present. Pale green spine scuffed at ends; faux wood grain patterned paper boards with light scuffing/bumping at fore-edge corners. Ink inscription "Charles W. Tyler 122 FA Bat. B-20613355 33[illegible]" across lower center of page 3 along with seven-line ink inscription signed "Hannah" at upper left and in Hannah's hand "To Joy, | Happy Reading! | July 2009" at upper center. Interior pages are otherwise clean. Binding is firm. Book was acquired directly from the estate of inscribee Joy Adams Carlson (1920-2022) of Macon, Mississippi who, by the text of Hannah Tyler's inscription, seems to have had a long friendship with the Tyler family. Carlson's online obituary notes her thirty-four employment with the United States Air Force which, if she was serving during World War II within the auspices of the U.S. Army Air Forces, may be when the friendship began. ISBN 9781606991442. Seller Inventory # NOV24-1551

Synopsis:

A graphic memoir of the author’s relationship with her World War II veteran father, and how his war experience shaped her childhood and affected her relationships in adulthood, stunningly rendered in detailed inks and subtle watercolors. You’ll Never Know is the first graphic novel from C. Tyler (Late Bloomer) and sure to be one of the most acclaimed books of the year. It tells the story of the 50-something author’s relationship with her World War II veteran father, and how his war experience shaped her childhood and affected her relationships in adulthood. “You’ll Never Know” refers not only to the title of her parents’ courtship song from that era, but also to the many challenges the author encountered in uncovering the difficult and painful truths about her Dad’s service—challenges exacerbated by her own tumultuous family life.

You’ll Never Know is Tyler’s first first full-fledged graphic novel (after two volumes of short stories). Unlike many other graphic memoirs which have opted for simple, stylized drawings and limited color or black and white, You’ll Never Know makes full use of Tyler’s virtuosity as a cartoonist: stunningly rendered in detailed inks and subtle watercolors, it plunges the reader headlong into the diverse locales: her father’s wartime experiences and courtship, her own childhood and adolescence, and contemporary life. The unique landscape format, and the lush variety of design choices and rendering techniques, make perusing You’ll Never Know like reading a family album—but one with a strong, compelling, sharply told story.

You’ll Never Know’s release schedule and format emulate those of Chris Ware’s ACME Novelty Library: three beautifully designed, large-format hardcover volumes released annually to complete a trilogy of astonishing breadth, depth, and sensitivity.

104 color illustrations.

About the Author: Carol Tyler is one of the most enduring cartoonists of her generation. Debuting with the short story "Un-Covered Property" in Weirdo in 1987, she went on to contribute to other anthologies of the era like Street Music, Twisted Sisters, Wimmens Comix, Drawn & Quarterly, and Zero Zero. Her debut book, The Job Thing (Fantagraphics, 1993), collected stories that examined the intersections between working-class labor, artistic expression, and misogyny. Her second collection, Late Bloomer (Fantagraphics, 2005), spanned her career to date, and showcased her facility with vibrant color alongside her expressive pen-and-ink brushwork.

In 2009, her three-volume series You'll Never Know serialised a biography of her father, tracing his return from WWII and the way the trauma of war and expectations of masculinity, affect soldiers' families and reverberate through generations. The first volume won Tyler nominations for the Eisner Awards for both Best Writer/Artist and Best Painter/Multimedia Artist. The series was expanded and compiled as Soldier's Heart (Fantagraphics, 2015).

Tyler delved further into her own history for the 2018 Fab 4 Mania, referencing her own 1965 diary for a memoir of a 13-year-old girl's life as focussed through obsession with the Beatles, culminating in attending their final Chicago concert. In recent years she taught in Sequential Art at the University of Cincinnati's College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning between 2006 and 2019, and moved to integrate the teaching, creative, practical, and caregiving aspects of her life via the Ink Farm, a Kentucky retreat for cartoonists to work. In 2023, Married To Comics, a documentary about Tyler's life with husband and fellow cartoonist Justin Green (1945-2022), premiered at the American Film Institute's Silver Theatre. She is completing her next memoir/graphic novel, The Ephemerata: Shaping the Exquisite Nature of my Grief, to be published in 2025 by Fantagraphics.

Bibliographic Details

Title: YOU'LL NEVER KNOW BOOK I; A GOOD AND DECENT ...
Publisher: Seattle, WA: Fantagraphics Books, March 2009.
Publication Date: 2009
Binding: Hardcover
Signed: Signed by Author(s)
Edition: 1st Edition