Finch, Scott – Introverts Illustrated #11: King of Waters

May 13, 2026

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Introverts Illustrated #11: King of Waters

I feel like I should once again mention that Scott sent me these comics (roughly 21 in total) in bundles of four or five each, and that it’s entirely possible that it would be better for me to review them in clumps rather than one at a time. And, once again, maybe I’ll do that next time! But this time around I just read the one comic, so that’s what I want to talk about. Last time I used my traditional single page for the sample image, which I think shortchanged the man’s artistic ability a bit. Just about every page is a double page spread, so please take in an actual example of his work in the sample image below. That level of detail would be enough by itself to get me to check it out, so if that’s all it takes for you, please go about your day. The link in the title goes to a website where you could purchase each issue of this series, so see what strikes your fancy and go nuts with it. If you’re looking for a little more detail, keep reading! I can certainly provide very slightly more information, since I’ve never been all that great at reviewing what is basically an illustrated poem. This comic describes how the king of waters came into being, how many others tried for the role, and how reluctant the actual king was to accept the role. He flows through everything, but not everyone is interested in participating. See? Very few extra details indeed, but his art style is mesmerizing to me, and I’m still pondering some of the dialogue well after reading this a couple of days ago. Both solid reasons to check out his comic, I reckon. $5

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Posted by Kevin

Finch, Scott – Introverts Illustrated #1

October 15, 2025

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Introverts Illustrated #1

Was I expecting something autobiographical after seeing that title? Reader, you know I was, but this is actually a dream comic. Scott sent along a big bundle of his comics (21 issues I think?) in this series, and they’re arranged by theme. The first five issues are dream comics, but what am I going to do, NOT review the first issue in the series? Madness. Maybe it would have made more sense to review the first five issues as a chunk, but I’m committed to this one now, so maybe don’t be shocked if the next four issues are a bundled review. Trivial information for people who didn’t ask! Scott does dream-like comics very well, and this issue is no exception. Forms are constantly splitting and merging, perspective changes, reality is in doubt, and there’s a general sense of wondering what you just read after finishing it. I mean that in the best possible sense! Trying to describe any kind of dream comic is a fool’s errand, but I’m just that kind of fool. Things start off with a gorgeous sequence of images attempting to coalesce into a theme before finally settling on driving down a highway towards a town named Rapunzel. The car shifts into him being one (or two) stray dogs who had to sing for their supper, which is what he had always been. Their supper was lettuce, which was guarded by witches flying kites. Of course, he never was a dog, which he also figures out eventually. There’s more, but I think you get the general sense of it, and I don’t want to spoil even a dream. More to come, so I’ll have a more informed opinion as I go, but this was intriguing and I’m curious to see more comics in this series. So far I’m only seeing this for sale as a bundle of the first five issues for $25.

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Posted by Kevin

Finch, Scott – Travel Diary

April 21, 2023

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Travel Diary

Best to be blunt about this one up front, I reckon: it never really clicked for me. Which was surprising! The Domesticated Afterlife, his graphic novel from 2021, was one of my favorites of the year. That one also took some time to cohere into something really compelling, so I kept waiting for this one to do the same, but it never got there. Disclaimer time, and I’m aware that this is a message I’ve repeated a lot (but hey, every review is the first for somebody!), but the fact that this didn’t come together for ME has absolutely no bearing on how YOU respond to it. The premise here (explained in his afterward, and I’ve rarely been as thankful for an afterward as I was here) is that Scott was cutting out drawings from his sketchbooks onto postcards that he was sending to a friend, and he went with the idea and decided to let “some creative chaos into the project.” Judging by that metric, I’d say he succeeded wonderfully. Certain images repeat themselves, they occasionally get additional details added, he even includes number breaks to indicate chapters. If you’re a fan of more abstract art, it rarely gets as widely open to interpretation as this one, so in that case I’d recommend giving it a shot. And to be very clear, I still think Scott is somebody to watch going forward. It’s not like this comic is going to knock the incredibly positive feelings I have for The Domesticated Afterlife out of my mind. These things just happen sometimes, y’know? $25

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Finch, Scott – The Domesticated Afterlife

November 11, 2021

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The Domesticated Afterlife

What a journey! I thought I had it, turns out I did not have it, I had the “it” more or less explained to me so that I went into the tail of this having it, and then it veered in another direction and I didn’t have it again. Was that sentence too much for you? It all makes sense if you think about it, but if that effort felt like too much work, maybe this one isn’t for you. Not that I’m saying you’re stupid, I would never! It’s just that this is a dense, sometimes meandering exploration of the afterlife as experienced by pets and other animals. Does it make a difference whether or not you were ever domesticated? You bet it does. What’s the hierarchy like around here? Well, don’t mess with the cats, but REALLY don’t mess with the chickens. Hey, what are they doing here? Don’t all kinds of creatures eat chickens? And cats were actively worshiped for centuries, how does that fit in? I’ll get into it a bit more, but to simplify for those of you who are on the fence: do you enjoy philosophical discussions about the afterlife? About sentences? About the words in those sentences? How about the letters in those words? How far are you willing to go in these debates before you go rushing back to the familiar to avoid the feeling of losing your mind entirely? If you’re always up for a good discussion I couldn’t recommend this highly enough. I feel like I got about 1/4 of what he was going for on the first read. Having said that, how do I know that it’s a worthwhile endeavor and not meaningless, made-up claptrap with vague philosophical trappings? Because I thoroughly enjoyed and/or wanted to read more about the parts that I did get, and even the bits that kind of flew by me still gave me enough bread crumbs to be intrigued. What else… this is a dense brick of a book, I’m guessing around 250 pages (but it’s not numbered, so all you’re getting is a guess), with images and symbols that I’m still trying to unpack. Things start off with a cat helping a dog into the afterlife. Or is it a human? Whose hands are those? The dog then tries to understand the rules while also trying to fight his own dog instincts. But why are they all doing chores? And what happens when those instincts are directly confronted with a challenge? Oof, I really can’t say much without giving lots away. The story does come together eventually, more or less, which gives greater clarity to things that you might not fully comprehend while reading them. Still, as I said, this is one heck of a ride, and unlike any other graphic novel that I’ve read. Any day I can say that and mean it is a good day in my book. $18

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Posted by Kevin