Section Four opens soon, but Sailor Twain takes a short in-breath before lunging ahead… Next comics page on Wednesday, February 8th. Thank you for patience!

Our unbound conversations continue full steam of course…

And speaking of which, here’s another guest blog entry from Jerry Mikorenda, known aboard the Lorelei as the salty Salty Aire——and it could not be better timed than with this section opener. Thank you, Salty!

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Ladies Literary Society of NYC

“Beating Wings in Rebellion”

by Jerry Mikorenda

In the early decades of the 19^th century, no group was more denigrated or powerless than African American women. On a late summer day in 1834, Elizabeth Jennings (Lizzie’s mother), Henrietta R. Ray, Abigail Mathews and Sarah Elston met to do something about it.

That day the four women founded the Ladies Literary Society of New York City. They were not alone. Between 1827 and 1841, black women in Manhattan formed at least 17 associations. Among them were the African Dorcas Association, the Female Mite Society and the Female Branch of Zion.

Literary societies were safe havens to learn to read, write and discuss ideas of the day. Members raised funds for antislavery causes, participated in boycotts, held community drives, sponsored lectures and collected petitions against slavery. These petitions were so successful in 1836 Congress passed a “gag rule” to stop them. Black activist Maria Stewart joined the upstart society after she was shunned in Boston as a radical. In 1838, the Ladies Literary Society raised funds to help a slave from Maryland escape. The world would later know him as Frederick Douglass.

Meanwhile, white female abolitionist groups were beginning to expand their perspective by inviting black women to join them. Listening to the abuses they suffered heightened the awareness of the inequality every woman in America faced. The idea of sisterhood over race was brought to a head in 1837 as Manhattan’s white female abolitionists prepared to host the first antislavery convention for women. Anticipating invitations, the Ladies Literary Society was shocked to learn that black women were banned from attending the four-day proceeding.

Renowned white abolitionists Angelina Grimké and Abigail Kelly took up the black New Yorkers cause with blistering attacks. With controversy threatening to destroy the convention before it started, the white New Yorkers backed down. In May 1837, a contingent of six women from the Literary Society joined the meeting.

By 1848, the first women’s rights convention ratified a Declaration of Sentiments in Seneca Falls, NY. Of the original abolitionist suffragettes, only New Yorker Charlotte Woodward lived to see the 19th Amendment passed. Recounting those early days, Woodward said, “I do not believe there was any community anywhere in which the souls of some women were not beating their wings in rebellion.” Ironically, she was sick on Election Day in 1920 and never voted.

SPEAK

And to you shy, quiet, taciturn, mute visitors, passengers, lurkers aboard the Lorelei:

if you’re around, how about today—at the close of Part Three after some three hundred pages of Twain’s travails—for you to speak up? At least say hello? We onboard blabbermouths entreat you: make yourself known today! 

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Some favorite quotes from recent onboard discussions:

The ways in which you describe Twain and his double have been especially delightful… Ecto-Twain, Soul-Twain, Corporeal Twain… As I scripted out these scenes I called one Prime Twain and the other The Ringer. (Although Soul-Twain deserves its own TV show, I think that label could be misleading in this context; perhaps I should write an entry about our magnetic vs. electric lives. That could be fun.)

 ”The tempest, a woman scorned at the cutting blade of a spear. What fruitful ground for love.”

—Salty Aire

“It’s like being a kid and sitting next to the radio with the Li’l Orphan Annie Decoder Ring!”

—Deschutes River

I’m going to keep coming back to the question, “How close to World’s End is Bikini Bottom?”

—Mere

And many other gems, including speculations, tangents, movie excerpts (“Peru!”)—I mean really, friends, where else do you find conversation like this?

The French version of Sailor Twain launches later today!  Feel free to go welcome aboard some of our gallic twainers!

Also: Claire came by the Flatiron building! It continues to be such a thrill meeting you Twainers in real life, and the conversation is no less a pleasure in the 21st century. Thank you!

Since I had an entry about the great Conté pencils, I must include the other great favorite tool used in every page and every panel of Sailor Twain: my favorite charcoals of all—General’s Charcoal.

In the mid 19th Century, one Oscar Weissenborn, immigrated from Baden-Baden, and founded what would become the GENERAL’S PENCIL COMPANY. It’s still run as a family business with a passion for  art and for the craft of making artists’ tools.

Who knew how much went into that pencil on your desk? See this piece on how they are made, and look here for some fine history of the General Pencil Company.

The messiest and hardest to control is straight powdered charcoal. But worked with a smudger or a chamois cloth, it’s almost like sculpting shades of grey…

… but best of all—General’s Jumbo Charcoal has gone into just about every part of Sailor Twain. For some reason, more than any other charcoal I’ve tried, this one has a softness about it that is a pleasure to work with. It spreads and darkens deeply or can be smudged lightly, plus it stays in place after spray fixing.

Okay, enough art supply geekfest now?

And now, thanks to the excellent Salty Aire, another guest blog entry with some gems of New York history…

Newsies

by Jerry Mikorenda

As we have learned throughout the Sailor Twain saga, newspapers played a vital role in 19^th Century life. Nowhere was this more apparent than the Empire City, the epicenter of the newspaper world.

In 1725, the New York Gazette became the first newspaper published in New York. By 1828, 20 other newspapers dotted the streets of Manhattan attracting the technocrats of the day. As a teenager, Walt Whitman worked as an apprentice for the Long Island Patriot. About the same time, William Rockwell, who presided over Lizzie Jennings’s trial, was an editor at the paper.

In 1827, African Americans found their own voice in Freedom’s Journal the first newspaper published for the black community. Lizzie’s father and brothers Thomas and William were activate promoters of the black press serving as agents (salesmen) for various newspapers such as the Colored American and Weekly Advocate.

Newspaper Row at its peak

Because of its proximity to City Hall, Chatham Street (renamed Park Row) was known as Newspaper Row. The New York World, The New York Tribune, The New York Times, the New York Sun, the New York Journal American and the New York Mirror as well as a host of others had offices there. Little did these journalists realize that Lizzie Jennings’s brave stand against segregation took place near their newsrooms.

With waves of immigrants hitting Manhattan’s streets, the need for news continued to grow. In 1865, 54 newspapers were printed in New York City. Within five years, that number grew to 90 papers printing 118 editions.

Getting all those editions into the hands of willing readers was the task of an unlikely lot – the Newsies. They were boys (and a few girls) as young as five or six years of age hawking papers on street corners. With nicknames such as Racetrack Higgins, Crutch Morris, Barney Peanuts, and Crazy Arborn, newsboys were highly romanticized. Making 30 cents a day, they were the poor and homeless children of the city. They often slept under stairs and suffered all sorts of abuses from adults.

King of the Newsies was Kid Blink. Blind in one eye, reporters were fond of quoting him using his dem’s and de’s dialect. In July of 1899, he led strike against Joseph Pulitzer’s World and Randolph Hearst’s Journal. Several rallies drew more that 5,000 newsboys. Eventually, the publishers agreed to buy back unsold papers. The kids won.

Ship’s Notices

Some Sailor Twain news: later this week, the French version starts serializing online! I’m so pleased to announce that Gallimard is the first house to translate it—and what a house! Gallimard is one of the oldest and most prestigious publishers in France, and a great honor to call it the berth of La Lorelei.

They’re launching the serial in time with the Angoulême Comics Festival, and releasing the French printed edition to coincide with the following Angoulême in 2013.

It pleases me no end that Twain is first appearing in English and French. From the start, our Captain (make that plural as of today’s page) and Lafayette were a study in contrasts between Gallic and Anglo-Saxon moralities (but their story arcs may seem to cross like ship’s in the night)… So at that level France and America—and their love-hate dance—make a vital thread of the story.

Sailor Twain in French will start with a batch of 40 pages, and then serialize once a week seven pages at a time—a chance to experiment with a different rhythm. What do you think? That will be different from our M/W/F… I’m curious to see how this unfolds. And any ideas for making it contagious, and encouraging French Twainers to share it with friends?

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Speaking of which: care to help make a push for new readers? 335 pages to catch up may be daunting for some, but who knows, just start a few friends on page one with this short link? http://bit.ly/9dfaeI

You can also use the custom invitations on the INVITE A FRIEND PAGE—the message text is now slightly improved.

Your support is greatly appreciated. If this whole experiment can prove itself, it doesn’t have to be a one-off.

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And lastly, the results are in from our Sailor Twain movie dream cast—hands down clear choices for the actors, if it’s up to our vote… See for yourself at the Sailor Twain Facebook questionnaires (and add your casting choice if you haven’t already!)

Thanks you all—what buona conversazione we’re having these days!

Hello!

Our braided sequence unfolds… I hope panel four will come to have greater meaning with later pages, or at least that this page will get you in the mood for a nice weekend in your Lorelei stateroom suites!

Many thanks all of you for joining in to play casting agents for the Sailor Twain movie dream cast! You’ve been great with your many suggestions… One more we hadn’t given enough attention to: the part of Miss Ella Wylie.

Amy Winehouse (as a CGI)

Regina Spektor

Marion Cotillard

Dita Von Teese

Come on, you quiet ones—who would you cast? Please be sure to vote on the Facebook polls!

@Big Bird: you were asking about concrete plans for a Sailor Twain movie… Hollywood is such a flirt, I never believe a word out of its fickle mouth. Three reasons going against a Sailor Twain movie worth making: 1. American film is youth obsessed and this is a tale of mid-life crises, and even the mermaid isn’t nubile or in high-school; 2. Bringing alive 1887 New York would need some Lucasfilm-type chops and budget, but this is an R-rated story, and back to reason number one; and 3. “slow-building, black and white, period piece, romance, supernatural” doesn’t sound like an immediate tent-pole.

Cloris Leachman as Miss Carr

Brian Baumgartner as Officer Benton

David Schramm as Ambrose Pike

Now for some principal players—who is the best fit?

Summer Glau as South? And her breakout role was in the beloved “Firefly” series, as a character called . . . River!

Mila Kunis as South?

Don Cheadle as Horatio?

Cuba Gooding, Jr. as Horatio?

Tommy Davidson as Horatio?

Rachel Weisz as Pearl?

Emily Browning as Pearl?

Emmy Rossum as Pearl?

Olivia Wilde as Camomille?

Cate Blanchett as Camomille?

Emily Browning as Camomille?

Kate Winslet as Camomille?

Vincent Pérez as Lafayette?

Vincent Cassel as Lafayette? Or Jacques-Henri?

Golden Globe winner Jean Dujardin as Jacques-Henri?

Ioan Gruffudd as Captain Twain?

Blake Ritson as Twain?

Johnny Depp as Twain?

Be sure and vote on the Facebook page!

CASTING CALL, below, but first:

Sailor Twain fan art is such a delight to come across. Like this one from the kind worded and exquisitely talented Jake Wyatt (more goodies well worth gazing at on his blog.)

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CASTING AGENTS!

In other onboard happenings, some of our recent conversations brought out the casting agents among us! It’s been fun finding out who you’d cast in a Sailor Twain movie… Let’s do this properly, shall we? And I can take the results and make a poll on FB, too…

Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane

Summer Glau as a Terminator

Vincent Pérez in Le Bossu

Blake Ritson in Mansfield Park

Zooey Deschanel as Trillian

Who are your top candidates for any or all of the following? The sky is the limit, and money is no object! Send a link to the right photo if you have one. And we’ll gather up the results later this week, okay?

PROTAGONISTS:

TWAIN

LAFAYETTE

CAMOMILLE

PEARL

SOUTH

JACQUES HENRI

ELLA WYLIE

HORATIO

PIKE

MISS CARR

BENTON

FRESH & SALTY

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For those who like to ferret out Sailor Twain’s little visual secrets, there is a running thread in the story’s weave which plays on hats, hairpieces and hair-dos. The braid on the page before this one (page 330), relates not only to that moment between Lafayette and Camomille, but to the entire sequence unfolding right now.

Andrew Wyeth’s “Braids” from the Helga series

Mid-19th century hairstyles

19th century Mourning Bracelet

Victorian Mourning Brooch (both above swiped from the Jeanine Payer Studio site)

Braiding has so many interesting connotations of weaving, binding, releasing…

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And who knew there was such a thing as hair porn?

Occupy History

by Jerry Mikorenda

Outrageous acts of defiance have always pitted the Empire City’s granite landscape. Past infractions make the recent Occupy Wall Street Movement look like a picnic in the park.

Manhattan was a cauldron for riots as diverse in severity and cause as the city’s population. The first was the Doctors’ Mob Riot. It took place April 13-15, 1788 prompted by a group known as the “resurrectionists.” They were grave robbers stealing corpses for medical studies. Street mobs attacked Columbia College and New York Hospital.

Five years later, “boys, apprentices and sailors” were among those who believed a rape victim was forced to become a streetwalker. For two nights, the Brothel Riots raged. July 9-12, 1834, the Anti-Abolitionist Riots seethed as pro-slavery mobs attacked churches, businesses and homes of noted blacks and white abolitionists. Lizzie Jennings family was among those targeted by the ransacking. That same year, NYU purchased stone work from prisoners at Sing Sing causing the Stonecutter’s Riot. The 27^th Regiment occupied Washington Square to quell the looters.

“Bread, Meat, Rent, Fuel!” was the cry as 5,000 starving women, children and men took to the streets on February 10, 1837 for the Flour or Bread Riot. The poor plundered homes of the rich protesting the monopoly on flour as the country’s banking system and economy collapsed. During the South Ferry Riot of 1846, Irish strikers battled the German laborers looking to replace them. The strikers refused to work a 13 hour day for .65 cents.

Bread Riots

Three years later, 200 troops were used to protect an English actor from a mob of 10,000 angry Irishmen in the Astor Place Riots.

Astor Place Riot

In 1857, the Great Police Riot put rival city police departments against each other. The Orange Riots of 1870 and 1871 were vicious confrontations between Irish Protestants (Orangemen) and Irish Catholics. In January 1874, the Tompkins Square Riot set 7,000 unemployed workers clashing with 1,600 police.

Orange Riots, 1871

To this day, the Draft Riots of 1863 remain the bloodiest civil resistance in American history. In all, 119 people, mostly African Americans, were killed.

Draft Riots

Lizzie Jennings‘ infant son died from riot-related complications. Ironically, 98 percent of those drafted in New York never served. The city used $5 million of public funds for draft exemptions. There were no special appeals for mistreated blacks. However, local businesses donated $40,000 toward their restitution.

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