>>PREVIEW
ANGUS OBLONG: THE SEQUEL
Runs until May 31
Quab Gallery
There is a reason why Angus Oblong has not published a new book lately. "I think it’s because I have a literary agent who just does not get me," says Oblong. "She’s old and ugly and just doesn’t have a sense of humour. I should probably get a new agent." After that, what else is there to say about the creator of one of the oddest and more original cartoons in recent memory, The Oblongs?
Oblong is an author, illustrator, playwright and filmmaker, but he is most commonly know for the warped and deformed characters he created for the cult hit animated series, The Oblongs. Featuring the vocal talents of Will Farrell, Jean Smart and Lea Delaria, the cartoon followed the Oblongs, a family of mutants and weirdos living in crushing poverty in the toxic suburbs of Hill Valley. It ran for only one season, but is still seen in re-runs and has a fervent fan base six years after it was cancelled. "I will never understand that," says Oblong. "I mean, how many times can you watch 13 episodes?"
The show was cancelled not for low ratings, but because of the content. "Basically, Jamie Kelner, a Republican and the head of the Warner Brothers network, hated it," says Oblong. "He thought it was sick and wrong. At meetings, he would just glare at me and at the end of the year, he just yanked it."
His book and the inspiration for the series, Creepy Susie and 13 Other Tragic Tales for Troubled Children, is still enjoyed by people who like his warped sense of humour. "Mothers hate my work," laughs Oblong. "There have been at least two petitions to stop my work, one of which I signed because yes, I need to be stopped. My work is about creating things that I find funny, and I’m always surprised when other people seem to share that sense of humour."
Oblong sells his art and his collection of self-published works through his website at angusoblong.com. His art is a simple blend of seemingly innocuous caricatures that are deformed or damaged in some repulsive way, sharpened by a dry wit. Oblong is a man with a barbed sense of humour, matched with a vicious sense of irony, repulsed by bland conventionality. His works are the anti-Disney of comic drawings.
Last year he was approached by the Rogue Artists’ Ensemble theatre in Los Angeles to create something new. The result, The Victorian Hotel, was a critical success that ran for seven weeks performed as a Japanese bunraku puppet show. "It was strange writing a play for the first time and I was really surprised how it turned out since I wrote it while completely stoned, which is strange for me because I’m more of a drinker." He continues to option animated shows for studios and has yet to sell another show, but he is not discouraged. "I gave up trying to please people a long time ago," he says. "I like to have control over my own work, which is why I prefer to sell my self-published books though my website. The stuff on The Oblongs was OK, but it was tame compared to what I wanted to do." |
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