When the Party’s Over
comic, Bronson Smillie, 20 pgs, [email protected], $8 bronsosaurus.tumblr.com
Karaoke, exuberant dancing, regrettable tattoos, getting by, getting hung over — typical moments from the lifestyle of a creative type, precisely the topic one comic artist has taken up as his subject. In a whimsical zine with a dark under-current, Bronson Smillie uses his strange illustrated alter-ego to chronicle the good times and the bad that come with being the life of the party in this lovely comic.
Smillie blends digital and hand-drawn art to great effect, capturing the perplexity of going through the motions of pleasure, personal hygiene, and partying. The zine is at once wholesome and sorrowful as it hints at some emptiness that accompanies the joyful practices of song, dance, technology and creativity that are ultimately lonely activities.
Smillie’s colourful style evokes feelings of childhood innocence and wonder, emphasizing our search for that long-lost form of pure play as we go out on the town. Yet the party does end, the hang-over does set in, and Smillie wonders where we go from there.