When We Were Kids
I wonder sometimes how many stories from artists I really like are scattered around in anthologies that are long out of print, never again to see the light of day. Granted, I’m wondering this because the three stories in this book are from the Irene series, which are all (as of now) still in print. And sure, lots of people eventually put these “lost” stories into a collection of some kind. But when I think about the mid 90’s, back when I was getting started on good comics instead of Marvel crap, all kinds of those mini comics artists would put stories into anthologies for friends, often with print run in the dozens. Anyway, tying this back into the comic, this walk down memory lane was inspired by the theme of this book. Which, as you may have guessed from that title, deals with stories (real or imagined) from childhood. Andy picks three big moments here, and they’re moments that might not seem like that big of deal while they were happening. The first story is about a young man and woman who take acid and hike up a dune. The guy has never done it before while the lady has, and the story is delightfully thin on the stereotypically “trippy” visuals that often mar stories like this. No, more often than not these kinds of experiences are all about the conversations, and the revelations that come out of them. The second story deals with two young brothers who are trying to adapt to a new stepfather, and the moment we see here is set before a snowmobile race, after all kinds of beers are drank all around. The final story is between two girls who are on different paths after graduating high school, with one of them leaving and the other sticking around. This isn’t written as an ending for the two of them, but you can see the hints of it in the pauses and quiet moments. It’s a damn fine comic book, and I’m glad that all of these stories are gathered together here, even if what I’ve seen of Irene has been pretty great too. $5
