The Day I Killed Jesus/The Legend of Rebob Mountain
Hey look, a flip book! Just wanted to point that out in case anybody got confused by the two covers. This is another step away from the Fart Party comics and, considering that I loved that stuff, it’s odd that I’d be so happy about it. She’s branching out as an artist in a big way, even if the “i before e” rule is still a bit hazy. First up, because that title is irresistible, is The Day I Killed Jesus. Whatever you’re thinking from that title, you’re almost certainly wrong. This is a story of Julia being babysat by a very lazy and inattentive sitter when she was 6. Early in the week she had managed to steal a bottle of aspirin, and once she was unsupervised she decided to host a tea party with Smurf, Rainbow Brite and Jesus, as he was the “unseen guest at every meal”. Well, she filled their cups with aspirin and only later read the warning label on the bottle. Her genuine terror is adorable and perfectly plausible, as why wouldn’t it be possible to kill an imaginary Jesus in such a fashion? The other piece is a serious short story, which is something of a departure from her usual work. She grew up near Rebob Mountain, and local legend had it that the flying monkeys from Wizard of Oz lived on top of the mountain, swooping down occasionally to kidnap pets and small children. Naturally this was a cause of great concern to the children, who kept a close eye on all ten (!) outdoor cats and their other various pets. Eventually one of their friends started getting skinnier, lost all his hair and eventually “went to a better place”, which took things to a whole new level for the kids. “Heartbreaking” is not a word I thought I’d ever use to describe one of her comics, but this one is close. She even has an afterword about how the top of the mountain still isn’t on Google maps, so it’s still a mystery. Julia mentions a collection of her short stories coming out in 2011, and if she keeps up this level of quality up until then it’ll be something to see. No price, but two stories = $3 to me for no good reason.
Posted by Kevin 
