Allison's Copy of Clyde Fans: Part One by Seth

Clyde Fans: Part One (2000), collects issues 10 through 12 of Seth's comic book Palookaville in which the story was serialized. Seth was to continue to work on the tale in installments through 2017. The completed opus of five books was published in 2019.

One Allison's copy of the book was personalized for her by the artist in 2001. In it Seth made a drawing of the fan salesman Abe Matchcard smoking his cigar and walking.

Seth
eBay listing accessed September 14, 2025

https://www.ebay.com/itm/376548470964?mkevt=1&mkpid=0&emsid=e11021.m164380.l178264&mkcid=7&ch=osgood&euid=c2ffcfc4f52843cc9f5034eb88853c19&bu=43186000575&ut=RU&exe=0&ext=0&osub=-1%7E1&crd=20250914013633&segname=11021&recoId=376548470964&recoPos=1

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Seth: Clyde Fans Signed in 2019 with a Sketch of Abe Matchcard

More than two decades in the making, Clyde Fans (2019) is by far comic artist Seth's most ambitious work. An extremely nice copy of the slipcased book turned up on eBay with an original sketch of the character Abe Matchcard walking through clouds of silver cigar smoke. The eBay seller refers to this sketched-in copy as "remarqued," a potentially useful word for describing such unique books.

But is that really what it means? The term comes from printmaking. A remarque is a mark or sketch made in the margin of a plate that indicates the state of the print. In a limited-edition print, a ramarque may also be a small sketch in pencil made by the artist in the margin of the print. 

I don't know why sellers feel the need to post the same photo twice in one eBay listing, but the practice is widespread.

Seth draws in this copy of Clyde Fans at the Texas Book Festival in 2019. Chris Ware sits next to him.

Seth
eBay listing ended September 5, 2021

https://www.ebay.com/itm/255113560682?hash=item3b65f4026a%3Ag%3AnYUAAOSw-xphK5Hs&nma=true&si=WEtIFz5%252FkfY9UxP8WWeB%252FCaqeVQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Seth
eBay item description

Seth
eBay bid history
One last minute bid

Note:  Pablo Portillo has posted a similar 2019 sketch of a standing (rather than walking) Abraham Matchcard surrounded by clouds of cigar smoke from a copy of the Spanish edition of Ventiladores Clyde signed in Bilbao. See it on the Comic Art Fans site here. Other interesting copies are no doubt out there, and there would be far more if the pandemic hadn't shut down comics conventions near and far. Readers fortunate enough to have interesting copies of Seth's magnum opus are encouraged to send photos or scans for use on this blog.

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Seth's Clyde Fans: Abe? I love you...

Much of Seth's preliminary art shows him working through the narrative flow of each comic page. In the example shown here, though, the artist takes great care with the design of a single important panel from Clyde Fans, part 4, of Abe Matchcard's wife Vera. Seth deftly uses one-point perspective with all lines emanating from the center of Vera's face, so that she appears radiant. Then he doubles down with the diagonal top rail of the staircase also leading to the vanishing point. 

Seth
eBay listing accessed May 8, 2018

https://www.ebay.com/itm/401534424295?ul_noapp=true

Seth
eBay item description

The panel was conceived to serve as the central image on the following preliminary page, apparently, replacing an image of the younger Vera:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/418975571579146952/

That rough of the younger Vera was not discarded; it was put to use elsewhere:

https://drawnandquarterly.com/clyde-fans

Note:  For some reason back in 2018 I did not follow this eBay auction to its conclusion. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who knows the selling price.

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Seth: Clyde Fans: Book One Signed in 2011 with a Sketch

When the complete version of Seth's Clyde Fans is at long last published in the spring of 2019, Book One (2004) will likely become obsolete, never to have a matching Book Two to sit next to it on the shelf. Book One itself eliminated any need for the smaller Part One (2000) and Part Two (2003 if it was published), both of which it included. These books are still important and likely to remain of interest to comics collectors and to those who want to study how this epic story developed. Others may be keenly interested in those copies personalized by Seth, particularly any containing an original sketch of one of his characters.

Seth
Clyde Fans:  Book One
Montreal:  Drawn and Quarterly, 2004

Signed and inscribed "for Chris/Seth/2011"
with a portrait sketch of Abe Matchcard

Seth
eBay Listing Retrieved May 9, 2018

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cartoonist-Seth-Clyde-Fans-Book-1-Signed-With-Sketch/122350717268?hash=item1c7cabc954:g:IVAAAOSwgZ1Xr3Vr

Seth
eBay Item Description

Three copies signed at the Boston Book Festival in 2011, now all sold

Note:  Do you know what this blog needs? That's right, it needs more art by Seth. Please send along scans or photos of original works or published rarities and help me make the internet safe for picture novellas chronicling the heartbreaking decline of small, outmoded businesses.


Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Seth

Signed Books with Sketches

Labor Day

Attempted Bloggery's Fanboy Index

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Good Night, Mr. Matchcard

Cartoonist Seth (Gregory Gallant) creates comics that are always worth a look. I find his preliminary drawings to be almost as interesting as the finished artwork. Here is a preliminary page of Clyde Fans, Book 2 from Palookaville No. 20. Somebody evidently snatched it up from the dealer almost as soon as it hit eBay. There wasn't even time for a single bid to be placed. Talk about hitting the brakes suddenly!

Seth (Gregory Gallant)

Original preliminary artwork for Clyde Fans, Book 2

from Palookaville No. 20

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&hash=item1c2868c114&item=120937038100&nma=true&p

t=LH_DefaultDomain_0&rt=nc&si=Zv4PhLp6HocGRC23iqci2JeQ2LI%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc#ht_3240wt_1413

Seth (Gregory Gallant)

Original preliminary artwork for Clyde Fans, Book 2

from Palookaville No. 20

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&hash=item1c2868c114&item=120937038100&nma=true

&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&rt=nc&si=Zv4PhLp6HocGRC23iqci2JeQ2LI%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc#ht_3240wt_1413

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Seth: Running the Company into the Ground

Once again, here's some original preliminary art for the future Clyde Fans, Book 2 by Seth (Gregory Gallant) which is being published piecemeal in Palookaville. Issue no. 20 shows Seth continuing to chronicle  the decline of a manufacturing business over decades.

Seth (Gregory Gallant), Clyde Fans, Part 2 preliminary art, p. 13, 
Palookaville No. 20

Seth (Gregory Gallant), Clyde Fans, Part 2 preliminary art, p. 13,
Palookaville No. 20

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&item=360450384407&nma=true&rt=nc&si=Zv4PhLp6HocGRC23iqci2JeQ2LI%253D&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc#ht_3240wt_1413

Note:  My previous post about Seth's artwork appears here.

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