by Seth Publisher: Drawn and Quarterly (April 21, 2015)
Hardcover, 120 pages
This is the penultimate (maybe) issue of the independent series, Palookaville, published over twenty
years by Canadian artist Seth. Much of what I have to say will be a bit
repetitive from my last review of Palookaville Twenty, but I don’t anticipate this
being a long review. So take your pick, read this or the last one, both or
neither. C’est la vie.
Again, the reason I am covering a single issue is that the series
moved from a bi-annual (more or less) standard comic format of 25 some odd
pages and a glossy cover to an expanded hard backed semi-annual edition of over
one hundred pages.
Those who actually pay attention will notice that I jumped from a
review of issue 20 to one of issue 22. The reason is that I find most of my
books in sales bins and discount racks. I found issues 20 & 22 in a
half-off bin in Queen City Comics (the only decent comic shop in left in
Buffalo, NY). Issue 21 wasn’t there, thus I did not buy it. Straightforward?
Damn straight.
Seth is one of the best artists out there. He is capable of
expressing the depth of human emotion with a few brush strokes, even though
most people say he seems like an alien in person. Even if he is, Seth’s
observations on the human condition are dead on.
There are three sections in this issue. The first is the
penultimate chapter in the Clyde Fans series. It is the ongoing story of
two brothers (one an introvert, the other an extrovert) who must deal with
their emotional problems after the collapse of their fan company due to the
rise of the air conditioning industry.
 |
| The Crown Barber Shop |
The second story, if you can call it that, is an expose (with a
fold out comic in the middle) of the author’s wife's barber shop, The Crown
Barber Shop. Seth apparently designed it after a fictional place in his
Dominion City model city (Where the story of Clyde Fans takes place).
The third is part one of an autobiographical retrospective of his
childhood, his extreme awkwardness, and his developing love of comic books. It
is an interesting look at an isolated (but not lonely) child making sense of
the world- and never quite managing it.
For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst. 
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