I’m not going to lie, this being Jesse’s first graphic novel is blowing my mind a little. From what I can see he’s published one comic, maybe done some other short pieces and then this. In case the suspense is killing you, what I mean by that is that this is one hell of a debut comic. There’s even a positive blurb from Chester Brown on the back cover, and that’s a real rarity these days. The story is told simply, with subtle bits here and there to get the reader caught up, but the gist of it is that Wanda (our main character) has been having a rough go of it for years, suffering from clear problems with alcohol, and after her mother’s death the rest of her family kind of wrote her off. She’s clearly been failing them for years, but she’s the last resort to watch Frida (her sister’s dog) while the family goes out of town on a trip. This is both offered to Wanda reluctantly and is clearly a test, as she’s basically being asked to keep a dog alive and not burn the house down. Things go OK at first, although Wanda is flooded with memories (her sister is living in her mother’s old house), before Wanda decides to play Frida’s favorite game: fetch, but with a rock instead of a tennis ball or a stick. If you’re currently thinking of one obvious way that this game could go very wrong very quickly, I regret to inform you that you figured it out. A quick trip to the vet’s office shows that no permanent damage was done to the dog, but from here on Wanda can “hear” what Frida is saying… and it’s never anything particularly positive about Wanda. Things get worse, as Wanda almost loses Frida while taking her for a walk, and then Wanda decides to do what she does best: make a run for it. The dog has plenty to say about that, and I don’t want to tell you the whole story, but it pulls no punches and offers no easy answers or paths to redemption. This is one of those comics that will stick with you, and since the year is barreling to a close (he says hopefully), “best of” lists are on my mind. Don’t be surprised to see this name pop up on some of the indie lists, possibly even some of the bigger ones. Dog lovers check it out, family fuck-ups check it out, people who love a haunting tale that’s told well, also check it out. $12.95
