For his first foray into fiction writing, Black Francis, frontman of the Pixies, chose to focus on French cinema. The Good Inn is a graphic novel both in its structure and subject matter–it’s an illustrated retelling of the story behind the first French porno. Filmed in 1908 and titled Le Bonne Auberge, the stag film, as they were so called, sounded like titillating subject matter to Francis and his co-author Josh Frank who asked cartoonist Steven Appleby to illustrate their surreal retelling of the events surrounding its production. Nagged by the idea that not much remains of the film apart from its name and plot summary–a soldier falls for an innkeeper’s daughter. It all seems like pretty PG stuff for porn, but then again, this was the turn of the 20th century. Francis’ rendition is decidedly less tame. Hear how he spiced things up this Friday at powerHouse Arena, where he and Frank will be on hand to discuss the book and how its topic continues to influence our current understanding of sex and cinema. Tickets are $10 and can be put toward the purchase of the book. Reading starts at 6pm.
