Truth & beauty bombs
The warm weather’s back, comicomrades! You might remember me telling you once upon a winter that I read exponentially more when I can see my breath outside. That statement was stunningly accurate. Sure, I now have the option of reading a zombie novel under a tree in the commons while I get Hemingway drunk on a balmy afternoon. Don’t think I’m not taking advantage of that. But mostly I find myself gravitating towards the wooden docks next to the Charles where I spend my afternoons napping in direct sunlight like a cat. My mother calls this “a good way to end up dead” but I just call it summer.
There’s something about the skyscraper-reflected sun that makes the city a little more inviting, a little more homey. Squinting into the sun, the city seems like it isn’t all right angles and glass and stone. It’s a little bit softer. It’s trees, and water, and hissing geese too.
Speaking of a softer world, Joey Comeau and Emily Horne began their weekly web comic of the same name all the way back in 2003. The thing I love most about this comic is that it breaks a lot of comic rules. Each strip is comprised of three photographs taken by Horne often of friends and local haunts. Each panel is laced with typewritten text that’s an equal mix of funny and tragic. This comic is sardonic, and I delight in its dark humor more than I laugh at it.
Comeau, who is the author of two novels as well, also has a fun side project called Overqualified. He writes cover letters for jobs he has no real interest in obtaining. My mancrush, Ryan North describes the letters thusly, “Overqualified’s cover letters are like a slap in the face, but the slap is hilarious, and you can’t stop laughing, and as soon as it’s over you want to tell all your friends about the slap. You know the kind?”
He also does a series of interviews called “I Am Other People”. This one is my favorite, obv.
Horne’s weekly photo journal i blame the sea is also worth a look. Her pictures are frighteningly good at capturing mood.
There’s a lovely little parody of ASW on XKCD.
Pro tip: don’t forget to hover over the final panel for extra text, often the best bit.
Is this comic for you? Or do you prefer something a little more Sunday paper-ish? Let me know! Have anything mean to say in 140 characters or less? Get at me on twitter @kate_sloan
