OH Day 6 - Comic Strips, Coffee, and Crispy Tofu
Went out for another brunch with my friend's mom and his sister. She wanted to make sure I tried the best Chinese food in Columbus. We went to Hong Kong House, and we really splurged. We ordered beef noodles, beef tripe, crispy tofu, stir fried veggies, fish soup, and sesame shrimp. We couldn't finish everything, but I imagine they'll have some nice left overs for the foreseeable future. My favorite was probably the tofu, which I wasn't necessarily expecting. I've had good tofu before, but I think I've probably had much more bad tofu between my school cafeteria and less than authentic Chinese restaurants in the suburbs of Massachusetts. I didn't take any photos of our feast, but my friend's mom took a pic of me looking like a happy li'l goober to send to her son.
From there I found a nice coffee shop to sit in and do some writing. I went with Mission Coffee Co., which is one of the most well established craft coffee roasters in the city. I also saw the youngest barista I've seen so far, as the guy that served me had his newborn son with him the whole time. It was cute to see him getting involved in the family business.
After my coffee, I went to the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum at OSU. It is the largest academic collection of comic strips, editorial cartoons, and cartoon art in the world. I was most excited to see original works by Bill Watterson, the creator of Calvin and Hobbes and an Ohio Native. Calvin and Hobbes Is truly one of the finest works of art and literature, cartoon or otherwise that has come out of recent American authors, and it is truly incredible that it was able to just unfold in the daily funny pages, something that just isn't really possible anymore
The museum also had two special exhibits. The first was on the relationship between cartoons and fashion. I didn't think this would be super interesting, but I was pleasantly surprised because the museum did a good job tying cartoons and clothes to social trends. It was really interesting to see editorial cartoons wax and wane from progressive to conservative and back again on ideas of women expressing independence and sexuality in their clothing. It was also funny to see all the old teen romance comics from the 50s, hard to believe those didn't quite stand the test of time.
The other special exhibit I thought was really fascinating, and it was about representations of immigration in cartoons and comics. The scope was pretty incredible, with the museum finding rare editorial cartoons from as far back as the 1800s up until graphic novels of today. Naturally that covers a lot of changing opinions on immigration and people of different races, and some of the earlier stuff could be pretty harsh. Still it was cool to be able to see opinions change over time pictorially, as caricatures gave way to real characters. On the spectrum of modern editorially cartoons, I think the museum did a good job representing a diversity of opinions on the subject while remaining culturally sensitive. My favorite part of this exhibit was the tying in of superhero comics as immigrant stories. Many of the earliest superheroes were created by immigrants or children of immigrants, so the issue was always more central than it may have seen. The whole origin of Superman actually mirrors the story of Moses in a lot of ways as an intentional nod to the creators' Jewish roots. I just think little things like that hidden in famous works is so cool.
The library aspect of the Museum and Library was quite cool as well, and if I was an OSU student I would have a tough time staying out of there. The staff was incredibly friendly, the space was very calm and relaxing, and they were stocked with just about any graphic novels you could possibly want. I flipped through some works by some old favorites, I discovered a comic book musical called Neil the Horse, which I didn't know could be a thing, but the author would include sheet music in the back of the comic so you could play along. I also read some works by local Ohio writers. I read some short American Splendors by Harvey Pekar, who is one of my favorite chroniclers of everyday life. I highly recommend the Paul Giamatti film adaptation as well. I also started reading My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf, about going to highschool with another more infamous Ohio native. The book was really well done, but between reading that and watching the new show Mindhunter all the serial killer stuff really creeped me out. As a clinical psych student though, it's really interesting to learn how abnormal minds work and so disheartening how frequently preventable these tragedies could have been with earlier interventions.
On a brighter (though I guess technically macabre) note, there also happened to be a Day of the Dead celebration happening in the same building as the Library and Museum, so I got to watch some traditional Mexican dancing, have some lemonade, and eat some traditional pastries. The Dancing really impressed me because it seemed like a mixture of improvised movements but also really precise rhythmic beats made by different articles of clothing and instruments. It was also just nice seeing the university and the community get together for a public cultural celebration.
After the museum and library, it was time for dinner. I went to one of my friend's favorite restaurants called Bare Burger. Outside the restaurant was an advertisement featuring a hand drawn Gizmo from Gremlins and Gremlins 2: The New Batch, so I was already sold on the place. I ordered a Buckaroo Burger which came with melted cheddar, mushrooms, and, the most amazing part, smoked brisket. The brisket was just incredible, tender, juicy, and flavorful. The whole burger was just one of the best I've ever had.
After the burger, I went to North Market, a large indoor market place filled with dozens of local vendors. Pretty full from the burger, I didn't want a whole ton of food, but I was drawn to Jeni's Ice Cream, supposedly one of the best ice cream places in Columbus. I ordered a seasonal special, the boozy eggnog. It was very creamy, but with a nice smokey whiskey flavor. I was very satisfied.
From there, I drove up to an Air BnB back up in Cleveland and called it a night.
Favorite Random Sightings: Smarty Pants Vintage; Kahoots: A Wild Place to Eat
Regional Observations: There seemed to be some kind of furry convention going on while I was there. So it's nice to see that Columbus is pretty welcoming of non-traditional lifestyles. I did get a great picture of one guy in the moment right before he notices he's surrounded by people in big animal suits.
Albums Listened To: Gumbo/ In The Right Place by Dr. John (Two great albums for the price of one); Gypsy Punks: Underground World Strike by Gogol Bordello; Hair: Original Broadway Recordings (probably my favorite musical); Half Smofe: Live Mpls by Mike Doughty (just Train to Chicago)
People's Favorite Jokes:
What are Mario and Luigi's overalls made of? Denim denim denim
Songs of the Day: I picked two because of the theatrics
Fairly dated by today's standards, but the bass lines are timeless
