One of my most pretentious pastimes involves The Velvet Underground, who are the subject of Koren Shadmi’s nonfiction graphic novel All Tomorrow’s Parties. Basically, what happens is I get someone to ask me if I like The Beatles or The Rolling Stones better, and then I reply with “The Velvet Underground”. Usually, I get a groan or sneer from Baby Boomer or “I listen to everything” types, but sometimes, I get a slightly respectful nod from the Pitchfork/edgelord/former college radio DJ types. I’ve never confessed this before, but I stole this bit wholesale from Emily Haines, the frontwoman of Canadian indie band Metric whose collaboration with The Velvet Underground frontman Lou Reed got me seriously interested in both the band and his solo work about 11-12 years ago. 

It’s a cliche, but along with David Bowie, The Velvet Underground are the parents of punk, post punk, art rock, art pop, and anything considered “alternative” in rock music. However, with the exception of All Tomorrow Parties’ framing narrative where Reed and his estranged bandmate John Cale attend Andy Warhol’s star studded funeral in 1987 as well as the gushing introduction from Gang of Four’s Jon King and afterword from Shadmi, you wouldn’t pick that up from reading. Koren Shadmi subverts the typical rise and fall narrative of most rock bios and instead focuses on the personalities of Lou Reed, Cale, and others in their circle, like Warhol and bandmates Mo Tucker, Sterling Morrison, and Nico. There’s also the throughline of the conflict between art and commerce that is set up from the beginning with John Cale wanting to be the next John Cage and exploring avant-garde classical music while Lou Reed is more of a rock’n’roll lyricist who happens to be bisexual and into heroin and writing about these things in his songs.

Focusing on personality instead of plot is the perfect fit for Koren Shadmi’s art style. He eschews photo realism and goes for a range of expression instead with Reed being the standout as his furrowing brow and casual cruelty are burned into my brain and work well with his sarcastic one-liners. However, although Shadmi’s figures are more cartoonish, his backgrounds and splash pages are lavish capturing life in New York City in the 1960 as well as other locations like sun-drenched L.A., a short stint in San Francisco, Boston, and of course, Long Island City, the home of most of the members of the Velvet Underground. All Tomorrow Parties’ visuals show true attention to detail and reward repeat readings as well as folks who are already familiar with the era.  Also, creating context through art instead of constant narration allows more room for more interpersonal conflict and fleshing out Reed, Cale, and company. For example, towards the end of the comic, Shadmi inserts newspaper clippings of The Velvet Underground’s poor reviews that breaks up the flow of reading and shows that folks in the 1960s definitely weren’t ready for their sound.

Along with the little details Koren Shadmi adds to splash compositions, his color choices are another stand-out element of All Tomorrow’s Parties. There’s the tedium of Lou Reed and John Cale’s respective upbringings in Long Island and Wales as well as the industrial sheen of Andy Warhol’s Factory. In addition to this, there’s the faded out sunshine palette of California that transforms into something that could only be described as a Brady Bunch aesthetic for the way that post-Cale, Doug Yule era Velvet Underground are marketed culminating in dark purple when Reed leaves the band and is driven back to Long Island by his parents. The shift in color acts as chapter breaks and delineates each era of the band as they go from playing college campuses and artsy functions as part of the Factory to making a stab (Basically, like trying to cut steak with a plastic knife) at commercial relevance.

Along with being an easy to digest history of one of the most influential bands of all time, All Tomorow’s Parties acts as a direct rebuke to celebrity worship and fan culture. The Velvet Undeground and Nico is one of my favorite all-time records, but I wouldn’t want to have a beer with anyone involved in making it. Shadmi doesn’t glorify (especially) Lou Reed’s bad behavior throughout the comic and isn’t afraid to portray him as a misogynist, especially in a scene where Velvet Underground drummer Mo Tucker is hiding in a closet at one of Warhol’s parties because she doesn’t belong and feel comfortable around a man who changed and discarded muses. It’s a touching, human moment between montages of the avant garde. Likewise, Koren Shadmi takes a nuanced approach to Reed and Cale’s relationship with Andy Warhol. There are no good guys or bad guys, just a clash of personalities and approach to art. It’s also interesting to see Warhol’s “contribution” on The Velvet Underground and Nico (Other than the iconic banana sleeve art) was to invent the “vibes guy” producer who lets artists explore their creativity and sound even though they can’t play an instrument or sing a la Rick Rubin.

In All Tomorrow’s Parties, Koren Shadmi aptly balances the dynamic of the personalities in and around The Velvet Underground along with the ideas and influences behind their music starting with dueling opening sequences centered around Lou Reed and John Cale’s childhoods and young adulthoods. It’s a worthy tribute to a band that is pretty much the forefather of all my faves.

Story/Art: Koren Shadmi Letters: Andworld Design
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.3 Recommendation: Buy

Humanoids provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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Purchase: Bookshop – Amazon