The curse of the umbrella

- Little Nothings, vol. 1: The curse of the umbrella. Lewis Trondheim. 

Trondhem, alias Laurent Chabosy, first published the autobiographical vignettes that were later released as “Little Nothings” on his comics blog. Primarily immediate observations about his everyday life —family and pet anecdotes, travel journals, his own status as one of France’s most prestigious cartoonists, and chronicles of his everyday rituals and little insecurities. 

Of course, journal entries have the potential to become interesting through their layered revelations of the person making them, of their place in society or their artistic impulses… but they also have the potential of coming across as banal trivia. 

Unfortunately, this volume of Little Nothings more often veers to the second. His travel musings are always made with the eye of the casual, almost bored tourist, with little interest for the local history or culture (particularly jarring when he spends a long vacation in the African island of Réunion, one of many French colonies —and all he can seem to think about is fears of Chikunguya, portraits of the landscape and his boredom. Nothing of colonization). Whenever autobiographies make a choice to avoid talking about politics, they wind up revealing far more about the author’s sympathies than they may have intended. Sometimes the exact opposite can happen, such as with Guy Delisle’s oft disappointing “Pyongyang”, in which his attempt to make a chronicle results in generally hollow observations. 

Now, beyond the lack of social sight, are the comic vignettes at least funny, or entertaining? Sometimes, in the same way as maybe hearing candid anecdotes from a distant uncle at family gatherings. There is not much in the way of intimate revelations. 

The art is pretty good, however. Trondheim has a good eye for backgrounds and landscapes, often rendered in a seemingly simplistic yet precise style. 

So… not really recommended, but at least it’s pretty to look at. 

*

Ghosts

- Ghosts. Raina Telgemeier. Cat, short for Catrina, is moving with her family up to chilly, foggy North California —because of Cat’s little sister, Maya, who lives with cystic fibrosis. But Bahía de la Luna is no ordinary coastal town. The dearly departed are never quite so distant here —less so as Día de los Muertos approaches. Maya is fascinated by the ghosts, but Cat less so —after all, aren’t they a reminder of death? Yet in one unforgettable night, the sisters will face their fears and find a strength for hope neither knew she had. 

Telgemeir, who had previously won critical and readership acclaim with autobiographical (Smile; Sisters) and YA slice-of-life (Drama) comics, now tries her hand a more fantasy (or “Magical Realism”, if you prefer) tale. Ghost is, at the heart, a tale about human connections. Be they family, neighbors, friends or even across the barrier between the living and the dead, it is those connections that shape our views on life. Like in ‘Drama’ the story offers a glimpse into a world so fully realized one wishes to remain in it long after the story is concluded. 

A charming all-ages comic overall. 

*

The tale of one bad rat

- The tale of one bad rad. Bryan Talbot. Helen is a teenage runaway. Fleeing her sexually abusive father and her uncaring mother, she finds solace in memories of Beatrix Potter. It is these memories that give her the strength to survive the cold cities and the road, until she finally finds her desired land, then slowly gains the strength to confront her abusers. 

A moving comic book tale about the healing power of art and stories, and about the mechanisms of abuse. According to Talbot’s notes, this comic started as a tribute to both Potter and to the English Lake District. But as he researched abuse, which was part of his protagonist’s backstory, the theme became far too important to trivialize. Thanks to this, however, the tale of a survivor became the heart of this comic. So much impact it had that, unusually for a comic book, all of the characters are directly based on real people (that is, used as models by the artist) and all of the locations are real (aside from some requisite ‘touching up’ for dramatic purposes). 

Very much recommended. 

*

Hard Time, vol. 1

- Hard Time: 50 to life. Steve Gerber, Brian Hurtt, et. al. 15-year-old Ethan Harrow and his friend Brandon Snood have organized a scare campaign against the attempted rapist jocks of their school. Unfortunately, Brandon is not content with scaring —he shoots and severely injures a few classmates (making sure to leave the ringleader paralyzed for life). Ethan attempts to stop Brandon, and when he fails he unlocks a super-power he never knew he had… and tears Brandon’s heart right out of his chest. 

End result: Ethan is going to jail for fifty years. 

His wise-ass remarks will not save him —in fact, he manages to make several enemies in the first two days alone. 

His new powers, however, just might give him an edge…

First volume of a troubled series that went through at least two different imprints (DC Focus and DC Bullet, both divisions of DC Comics that are now defunct), and which took a sci-fi turn late in the story. This first volume, unfortunately, fails to impress. Filled with stereotypical characters (check out that cover blurb that describes the comic as ‘Oz meets My So-Called Life’ —that’s the big problem here, critic!) and a somewhat underwhelming premise, it’s at least mildly entertaining because of the fast pace. 

Gerber had other, more interesting titles in his oeuvre —I’d recommend checking out “Nevada”  (a fantasy story with a much better and just as snarky protagonist), also done for DC, for starters. 

Oh, well. 

*

Alone Forever

- Alone Forever: The singles collection. Liz Prince. Compilation of Prince’s autobiographical webcomic detailing her experiences with bad boyfriends, online dating and extended loneliness. 

A candid portrayal drawn directly from life, sometimes capturing the kind of anecdotes we all experience sometimes that are hard to justify in terms of telling other than “this seemed like it was worth pointing out”. It is that ‘relatable!’ brand of storytelling combined with Prince’s deceptively simple art style that keeps the comic entertaining. 

There are no particular reflections about any of the situations presented; even personal affiliations of Prince (the punk rock scene, her taste for bearded men, and indeed her position as a somewhat famous web-comic author) are all taken for granted. 

Nevertheless, quite a few readers have and will still find the overall comic, as said before —relatable! 

(I personally preferred “Diario de un solo”, by Catalina Bu, which I felt did a more profound examination of a similar premise —comics about being single drawn from real life. But Bu went deeper into her examination, such as analyzing how this kind of cycle can risk people straying into radicalization. But, I digress). 

Overall, entertaining. 

*

Shortcomings

- Shortcomings. Adrian Tomine. Ben Tanaka has problems with stuff. With a lot, A LOT of stuff, if you ask him. If you ask his friends, if you ask the women in his life, really it’s just one problem: Deeply internalized racism. Ben runs a small movie theater in Berkeley, spending the days with his politically active girlfriend, Miko, and his lesbian friend Alice. But when first Miko then Alice realize they crave so much more from life than just the post-college experience, Ben’s world begins to crumble. He’s about to learn just how ugly the inner self can be. 

A remarkable graphic novel examining Asian-American communities through the eyes of a deeply negative protagonist. To be sure, Ben is not a sympathetic character. Like his theater, there’s cracks everywhere, hinting at a fundamental problem that risks collapsing the whole thing. Yet it’s his critical eye that also allows him to lay bare the ennui that consumes much of our life. The little lies we all tell ourselves, too. 

There is no redemption for Ben… but there is for the people in his life, who after a fashion use Ben as a mirror to examine their own shortcomings. 

And yet this is not a cynical comic, nor one with delusions of being “real” —like Ben himself, it is a reflection of our lowest moments. 

Perhaps not for all tastes, and yet so much more recommended for that very reason. 

*