Optical Sloth

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Town & Country #4

This one fell through the reviewing cracks somehow (Alex put this out a couple of years ago), which wouldn’t be all that notable except for the fact that his online store seems to be down completely and the only active link I can find for this issue goes to Birdcage Bottom Books. They’re great, don’t get me wrong, but the link shows as a security risk, so I’m using a different link that’s currently sold out. Maybe they’ll get more? Eh, I don’t know. Not the first time that I’ve reviewed something and wondered after the fact if a comics apocalypse happened while I wasn’t paying attention. Past me thought I’d be reading the previous three issues before trying to review this one, but current me is cranky and tired, so I’ll have to rely on my memory to keep these characters straight. Which isn’t as problematic as usual, since Alex put a brief synopsis at the start, and the theme of this issue is overall less about the people than it is about the town itself. The first half of this book is an oral history of the town given by one of its residents, and we don’t see any details about who or what’s happening until the end. This person goes through what the town used to be like, how the people used to interact, how sad it is that the younger generation can’t wait to get out, why they stick around, etc. If you come from a small town this one might hit you pretty hard, as it’s hard not to see some parallels to other places that I’ve lived. After a lovely centerfold depicting parts of the town (and a very brief story about Suzy), the rest of the book shows an outdoor wedding. Sure, Alex spends plenty of time with some character growth for several people (seriously, the number of things going on in the background makes me think that I still missed a few after reading this twice), but this is once again about the town and the various interpersonal dynamics happening. Also that ending didn’t involve any humans and it still got me. Here’s hoping that everything is OK in Alex’s world, as it’s odd not to see active links to his comics online. But if you can find this at a con or have better searching skills than me, give it a shot. It might not be the best single issue by itself, but it wouldn’t be possible without the character growth from the previous issues, and I’m still fascinated to see how it all comes together. $8

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Town & County #3

Sometimes I wonder: do the details of these ongoing series (where I’m reading individual issues months or even years apart) fade out of my head because I read so many of these comics for reviews or fun that it’s impossible to keep them all straight, or is it because my brain is chock full of holes at this point in my life? Until we can find other test subjects who have been reviewing comics for 22+ years, I guess I’ll never know. Anyway, my point is that when #4 comes out in this series, it will be just about time for me to read the whole shebang again. So, now that I’ve warned you that my specifics on some of these characters are becoming hazy, what’s going on this time around? Things start off with a brief check-in with our favorite housekeeper, then we get a longer story about Lyle Downe and the time when he moved out of his parent’s house at 19 and into an apartment with a married couple. He had a big room but no bed, started to feel like he was getting to know his roommates and settling in to a good routine, when things started changing. First gradually, then quickly, and finally we catch up to him in the current day. We check back in with Suzy as she ruminates on the many bits of religious imagery around the house she’s currently cleaning, then we flash back to the absolutely sweet way that Sherm and Suzy got together (they knew each other vaguely in high school but rarely interacted). Finally we once again get several single page stories from Don’s perspective, which I’m leaving up to the readers to discover, as there’s a whole lot going on there and it does occasionally get grim. And, since it’s meant to depict a life, warts and all, that sort of thing is bound to happen. There are a few other shorties in here too (Alex is always going to give you plenty of story for your money), and once again I’m struck by the idea that this is going to be something genuinely special when it’s all said and done. I mean, unless the Avengers show in the next issue and completely change the vibe of the whole thing… $8

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Town & County #2

A gentle suggestion for Alex before I start the review: a character guide or brief synopsis tucked away somewhere on the inside front cover would be a good idea going forward. That’s true for roughly every ongoing series where the issues come out several months (or years) apart, and I was able to keep it all straight this time, but if this turns into a homespun behemoth, it’ll be helpful. So what’s this comic all about? It’s a series of stories about various people who live in a small town, with several of them bouncing off each other. Things start off on the inside front cover with a brief check-in with Sherman, who has a new lady in his life. Obviously I’m going to be referring to some things that happened in the last issue, so if you haven’t read it, prepare to be occasionally confused! From there we see how Stanley and Luann are dealing both with them having the house to themselves for the first time in decades (their son grew up and moved out) and the closure of the plant that previously employed Stanley. Next we see how Suze (Sherman’s new lady) is doing, which is quite well, thanks! From there we go to the heart of the book, which is the story of Don in his later years, dealing with his children, going about his days and how suddenly grief could still creep up on him. I’m leaving this as vague as possible because it was occasionally gutting and I’d rather not spoil some of Alex’s best emotional writing that I’ve seen. Next we get a grim story from the early years of Andy, the helplessness of his mother in the face of abuse and indifference from the authorities, and what he’s doing now. Finally we end up with another look at Sherman and how he handles Wally showing up at his job. Oh, and I forgot about this: there’s one more story on the back inside cover, written up like a newspaper story that covers the closure of the plant and the reactions of some of the former workers. You know, maybe Alex just didn’t have the space to put in a synopsis at the start of this comic, as this sucker was packed with stories. A book like this could get maudlin in a hurry, and it does at times, but as a whole Alex does an excellent job of modulating the tone of the book so that things never get too high or low for long. This is not a man where I’m comfortable saying that something is his best work (he has way too many good comics out there to be sure), but when it’s all said and done it might end up being just that. $8

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Town & County #1

Here’s a good rule of thumb, for any l’il potential comic reviewers out there: if, after reading a new comic from an artist you’re already very familiar with, you’re convinced that the latest book is the best thing they’ve ever done, but then have to go back mentally through all the OTHER times you’ve said that about their previous books… chances are that you’re dealing with a pretty solid artist. Have I mentioned that I’m writing this in the middle of a nasty cold, and that I’m both pumped full of drugs and have slept more in the last three days than I had in the previous week? I mention this because I just reread the first sentence of this review, and want to give everybody full warning that this is going to be one of those “it’s the thought that counts” kind of reviews. Because the thought is clear enough, right? Garbled though that sentence might be, my point was that Alex keeps surpassing himself, and going off in unexpected directions where it would be just as easy for him to fall flat on his face. But he keeps nailing it, and it leaves me in a state of being perpetually impressed. Should I maybe talk about the comic for a bit? That seems like a thing that usually happens. This is a collection of short fictional pieces about the residents of a small town in Illinois. As I was born and raised in a small Illinois town, does that make me biased? Eh, maybe. The first third (ish) of the comic are “pages” from Don’s diary, as he details his dreams, life, history, family and potential future. That’s selling it a bit short, as each of the 12 pages has something thought-provoking, heartfelt or at least a little bit sad, but you’re getting no spoilers from me at all on that part. Especially because it’s listed as a “part one,” meaning he’s maybe planning on putting together a graphic novel of that section specifically, which sounds like a great idea to me. Other stories include the things that a cleaning woman sees and how she unwinds, the most effortlessly successful and popular guy in high school and what might have happened to him afterwards (with a spectacularly misleading title), a revisiting of the cleaning woman from earlier at a party, and a glimpse into the life of the woman whose house was being cleaned (which cleared up a whole lot about her personality). I wasn’t expecting the whole thing to flow together, but it did so quite nicely. If you’ve been reading these reviews for years and still somehow haven’t picked up any of Alex’s comics, this would be an excellent place to start. It’s a #1 and everything! $8