reading notes

by Crab Scrambly

ISBN: 0943151902

One of the latest offerings from Slave Labor Graphics, this book isn’t quite a graphic novel, but an illustrated story. What is the difference? Type that is set and not in panels is the shortest, clearest answer. I’m tempted to say images that, well, illustrate the story rather than drive the narrative forward is another answer, but then that just might be the way I feel about this book.

The setup is promising: a disaffected young worker who is cursed from birth comes across a magical charm that transports him into another dimension. Flipping through the book looking at the artwork, it is full of interesting creatures (always a plus for me) and curious objects. The style is angular, all black ink and hatch marks, with a clean appearance.

Going through the book again, it could almost be done in a wordless style. Not a great thing to say about a 70 page trade paperback-sized book that is half text, I know, but the images are much stronger and more compelling than the writing. I wish “Scrambly” had relied more on his art than on his words, because this is a neat story. The ending is a little too neat in fact, but I wonder if it would have seemed that way with a “less telling, more showing” approach.

Bottom line: an illustrated story that would have worked better in a comics format. The creator is worth keeping an eye on, but I’m not sure this story in this form is worth eight of your entertainment dollars.