AMA: Obscure Philly references

Q.: You've said you try to avoid including obscure Philadelphia references to avoid confusing your audience, but are there any aspects of life in Philly you wish you'd be able to feature in your comics?

A.: Most of my references about life in Philly went into Phables! If there were one thing I'd love to convey about Philly, it's this...

In short: I grew up in a small farming town, and I've never been about to find that same sense of community in any other place — until I moved to Philly. 

Throwing Philly references into Evil Inc is a constant temptation. There are just so many hidden gems. Here are a few...

The Shofuso Japanese House and Garden: Designed by architect Junzo Yoshimura, Shofuso was built in Japan in 1953 using traditional techniques and materials. It was shipped to New York and exhibited in the courtyard of the Museum of Modern Art in New York before moving to West Fairmount Park in 1958. In 2007, international artist Hiroshi Senju, inspired by the garden’s waterfall, donated 20 contemporary murals to Shofuso, which are permanently displayed inside the house. This historic site and museum includes a hill and pond garden with a tiered waterfall, island, and koi fish, a tea garden featuring a traditional tea house, and a courtyard garden leading to a bathhouse. [Source]

The Philadelphia Mural Arts Program: In the 1980s, Philadelphia was having a huge problem with graffiti. So they devised a solution: They funded a program to redirect the artists' energies to public art projects. In 1984, several graffiti taggers were given the option to either go to jail or take part in a new city beautification initiative. Since then, the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program has overseen the creation of more than 3,800 pieces of art painted on sides of buildings. Of these art pieces painted on buildings, 2,000 are still viewable by the public, making this collection the "World’s Largest Outdoor Art Gallery." [Source]

Termini Bros. Bakery: Starting when I was eight or nine years old, Uncle Tony and Aunt Trudy would take me for a few weeks during the summer. Technically, they were my great aunt and great uncle (Trudy was my grandmother's sister). They were childless, and every now and again, they'd have me over to confirm that they'd made the right choice.

Uncle Tony was a proud Italian, and on Sundays, he would take me to get the Detroit Free Press and cannoli. We'd come home, eat cannoli, and they would listen in endless fascination as I told them which comic strips I liked and which I didn't. They told me in no uncertain terms that I could do that, too. (It really hadn't occurred to me before that.) 

It's not much of an exaggeration to say we're here together because those two dear people took one eight-year-old seriously.

I've searched long and wide for cannoli that taste like the ones that Uncle Tony bought for me — including Rome. And the only place that I've found that brings back those happy memories is at Termini Bros. If you're ever in town for a comic convention, the Reading Terminal Market is right across the street from the convention center, and Termini Bros' stall is impossible to miss. 

Grip the Raven: It's not often for a mere bird to inspire a literary master — but how about two? Grip, a talking raven, was Charles Dickens' beloved pet. Grip even appears in Barnaby Rudge, one of Dickens’ lesser-known stories.

The book was reviewed for Graham’s Magazine by its literary critic at the time, Edgar Allan Poe. Poe wrote that “[the raven’s] croaking might have been prophetically heard in the course of the drama.” It wasn’t long after this that Poe published his breakout work “The Raven.” The coincidence didn’t escape notice, and Poe was taunted with the refrain, “Here comes Poe with his Raven, like Barnaby Rudge, / Three-fifths of him genius, two-fifths sheer fudge.”

Despite this, “The Raven” was a smashing success, and Poe enjoyed performing readings at fancy salon parties. He would turn down all the lights and recite the poem with great drama. Everyone referred to him as “the Raven,” but it would only be four years after publishing “The Raven” and gaining worldwide fame that Poe would be found delirious on the streets of Baltimore, dying shortly thereafter.

Today, Grip the Raven, who inspired both Dickens and Poe, can still be seen, proud as ever, in the Free Library of Philadelphia Rare Books Department, along with a great collection of both Poe and Dickens originals and other rare books. [SOURCE]

Eastern State Penitentiary: America's First prison was built in Philadelphia. Today it's a historical site engaging in dialogue to deepen the national conversation about criminal justice. Al Capone had a brief stay there. So did Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt (when they were filming the Terry Gilliam sci-fi thriller Twelve Monkeys). Fun fact: The prisoners at Eastern State Penitentiary had indoor plumbing during a time when the White House did not. Every Halloween, they host a haunted house event that is routinely listed as one of the best in the country.

Philadelphia

When we renovated our house, the contractor wanted to know how long I was planning to stay. (I suppose that would impact certain decisions we would make in the upgrades.) I told him they would only get me out of this place one way: Feet first.

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