Writer/Artist: James Kochalka
Publisher: Highwater Books/Alternative Comics
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A beautiful song of love and friendship, centred around parties but understanding that life is more than parties. In here there's art and loss, wide open skies glimpsed through treetops and I find it intoxicating.
Part of the heady rush is the continued narrative of James and his friends, with his own little symbols and quirks. As his craft has progressed the books have kept their rambling, conversational sense but now the structure is a delight. There's a musical rhythm that makes each act a song.
He's stayed with his own distinctive cartoony style while learning to place the shadows in a way that makes me want to mail this book to Paul Gulacy. His artistic style can take some getting used to, but when you do you realise that it has a charm all of its own; similarly, it helps if you’ve read one or more of his previous books (Jason the dog-not-dog makes a re-appearance as do other familiar characters), and the cumulative effect of Kochalka’s book is incredibly strong.
Here are two more recommendations from the back cover:
“It’s got time machines, kung fu fighting, and dance parties. How cancer robots, depressed doggies, and exploded testicles fit into this is anybody’s guess” and from some chap called Frank Miller: “James Kochalka…is one of the most shockingly good comic book artists out there right now.”
Who am I to disagree?
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