Monday, August 13, 2012

Comic Book Reviews: Grant Thomas


My Life In Records
Into My Heart
$6.50 each + shipping
grantthomasonline.com 






I don’t exactly feel “qualified” to review comics. When I was a kid I went through a brief phase of reading “Richie Rich” and a couple of other non-superhero series. As a young adult I read Doonesbury and Bloom Country for a while, then grew bored with them. Often comics just leave me baffled, and ultimately disappointed.

That’s not the case with My Life In Records, a very coherent narrative that explores the author’s childhood. Bert & Ernie’s LP Side By Side plays a prominent role in the events in young Grant’s life and imagination. Grant’s story continues in Into My Heart which brought visceral memories up for me of nearly drowning when I was a child when I was 4 or 5 years old. Grant’s childhood echoes my own in several ways – right down to wrestling with religious questions and baptism. 



Everything flows in these comics and everything “works” – the visual style, storytelling, and the narrative text. Vinyl records anchor the story, something most of us of a certain generation can relate to. Will anyone be nostalgic for their mp3 player in twenty years? I won’t give away any further specifics about these comics because I hope that as an OMZR reader you will discover these excellent zines for yourself. 

No comments: