Isolation Chamber #1
After reading the two comics listed above, just about the last thing I expected to see from Ed was a diary comic. Yet here it is, and it’s as good or better than his other stuff. This is a history of his days from 11/19/04 to 12/21/04. Days can take anywhere from a couple of panels to a full page, and this is how diary comics should be done. He has the space to talk about anything that pops into his head and tells all sorts of embarrassing details that he’s probably regretted ever since, especially the stuff about his parents being secret online swingers. Oof, that’s a tough one to live with. The problem I have with stuff like the Kochalka diaries (which I’m aware I’ve praised in the past) is that it’s the same thing every day, four panels and that’s it, often done obviously just for the sake of doing a strip that day. Ed has the space here to dig into his relationship with his father, deal with his book with Harvey Pekar (Our Movie Year) coming out, talk honestly about the seeming futility of the local comics collective, and daily life at 22 while still living with his parents. The lettering is a bit sloppy at times, and that’s just about the only thing to bitch about. If you’re a fan of the diary strip idea, this is what the worst of them could be in a perfect world. $2.50
