All My Ghosts

Last month I went to HeroesCon in Charlotte, NC and had a blast seeing my friends, some artists, getting some original art, going to panels, and buying some new books. I did not buy as many books as I have in the past, because I find I don't get to read as much as I'd like right now, but I did manage to pick up a few things I might not otherwise. One of these such purchases was this book, All My Ghosts, by Jeremy Massie (a very nice guy who I had a lot of fun talking to about his work). It is a "slice of life" story about a middle-aged man named Joe Hale who runs a local newspaper. The business has been in his family for generations but times are getting tough and it is increasingly difficult to keep it afloat. On top of this major problem, Joe also has a bad case of writer's block and is in a general funk.

 

 

His life takes a major turn when an opportunistic company swoops in to buy his newspaper, and he goes through a series of changes, mostly for the better, although many of the people around him would probably say differently. In shaking off the ghosts of his past, he gets a bit selfish and the consequences of his actions have a large impact on his friends, employees, and various townspeople.

What I liked about this book were its spare yet powerful art style and that it told a realistic, personal story in a thoughtful and interesting way. Not much about this book turned out as I expected, and I liked how it resisted an overall "feel good" vibe. Perhaps not everything played out well or in a satisfying way, but this book has a lot of raw energy and artistry, and I enjoyed reading it. Not all of the characters were well defined, but the ones that were seemed very real and familiar. Heck, I'd read the continuing adventures of Joe Hale if there were more to come.

Like I wrote earlier, this book is the creation of Jeremy Massie, who has a number of other works under his belt, including the horror story Bee Sting, a quirky superhero tale called The Deadbeat, and the current ongoing, all-ages series Amazing Age. He speaks about his work on All My Ghosts and his other works in this interview.

Most of the reviews I have read about this book found it uneven, though they all praised the visual storytelling. Johanna Draper Carlson was a bit let down by the book overall but also stated that "the story is told strongly when it comes to the art, and I would check out Massie’s next project." Jason Wilkins wrote, "Massie’s cartoony style is expressive and accessible. All My Ghosts is so easy to read in large part because his art is so pleasing to the eye." Nick Ford found some good parts in the book but also commented, "The story’s not bad but it’s handling a timeless conflict that’s been done a million times before."

All My Ghosts was published by Alterna Comics, and they have a preview and more info here. It was originally released as a four-issue series, and the physical graphic novel was funded initially by way of Kickstarter.

This book features some adult situations and themes as well as occasional profanity, and I'd recommend it for more mature readers.

Mid-Life

Like We Can Fix It!, this book is also combines elements of fiction and autobiography. It stars Joe Ollmann, an art director and cartoonist who has published two prior books, Chewing on Tinfoil and This Will All End in Tears. He has also done a short series of autobiographical comics posted at The Comics Journal. He has a blog where he posts various drawings and news, and he also has a site for his new book Science Fiction. He speaks extensively about Mid-Life and his career in these interviews, one with the Comics Reporter, the other at Robot 6.

The realistic bits in this book are that Joe has two adult-age daughters and a young son from a second marriage to a younger woman. Also, he worked as an art director for a magazine for a number of years. The rest of the bits are fictional flights of fancy or grotesque caricature. Consider how the author appears in a photo on the book jacket

compared to how he depicts himself in the book's only splash page illustration

Hey ladies!

The fictional version of younger Joe is caustic, full of vinegar

And age has mellowed him some

But still, he finds himself missing something in his life. That something seems to appear in the form of Sherry Smalls, a singer/children's performer who acts as the book's second narrator.

Sherry has her own set of problems. They include:

a troubled ex-boyfriend/bandmate who threatens her record deal,

a ticking biological clock,

and some boundary issues, particularly when it comes to older men.

When Joe hears Sherry's music on a promo CD, he is enchanted and becomes obsessed with her, looking up her information and past works. Then an opportunity to meet her arises and he seizes it, and of course sparks fly between these two troubled souls. Joe misrepresents himself to Sherry, and he is wracked with guilt on the front end of his "will he"/"won't he" dilemma

I found Mid-Life to be full of great observational humor, well defined characters and situations, and also grotesquely wonderful and visceral art. Ollmann's cartooning captures very real human thoughts and emotions, and even when things veer close to stereotypes and stock scenes they retain their own unique qualities. I very much enjoyed seeing the struggles and experiences of these characters, because the narratives and characterizations were so compellingly presented.

Reviews I have read of this book have been very positive. J. Caleb Mozzocco called it a "great" graphic novel, "deserving of that often meaningless and misapplied term." The Comic Journal's Tom De Haven wrote that "Ollmann has made a huge leap forward as a stylist and as a storyteller," and added that "Mid-Life is a major and wonderful piece of work." Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review and concluded, "Readers of any age who pick up this gem will find it impossible to put down."

Mid-Life is published by Drawn & Quarterly, and they provide a preview here.