The Distance comic, #988, $2 USD, Travis Nichols, [email protected], www.ilikeapplejuice.com.
When I moved to Toronto, my boyfriend broke up with me and we avoided the volatility of a long distance relationship (LTR). However, vegan cartoonist Travis Nichols embraces the delayed gratification of a LTR. He uses illustrations, wordplay and fancy paper folding to describe “a relationship of second bests.” Instead of bringing your ailing partner homemade soup, you send a gaudy electronic get well card. Rather than meeting for a matinee, you and your sweetie schedule a monthly visit. One drawing elegantly encapsulates modern communication and correspondence. The comic alternates between personal reflection and common LTR dating scenarios. Check out the illustrated timeline of a courtship that started in Albuquerque and watch the distance expand. In addition to his goofy sensibilities, I like how Nichols draws people as animals; he is a reindeer and his girlfriend is a squirrel. He asserts that long distance relationships are cost effective, hip and gratifying before concluding that they are agony. This is a funny yet cautionary tale for fuzzy lovers. (Grace Ma)
Zine, #9, $5, Emily Pohl-Weary, PO Box 108, Station P, Toronto, ON, M5S 2S8, www.kissmachine.org