When I was young we didn’t have very much money, so we didn’t go to amusement parks or on fancy vacations. Instead, every summer we’d load up the station wagon and my parents would take my sisters and I camping. We grew to love swimming in the lake, reading in the hammock, roasting marshmallows over the campfire and going for long hikes. The appreciation of nature became such a strong part of me that now, at age 26, I would much rather go camping for a weekend than ride a rollercoaster or stay in a hotel.
If you feel the same way, Marta Chudolinska’s new zine collection of strips, that originally appeared on OpenBookToronto.com, will appeal to you. It’s filled with car drives, mosquitos, rowboats and tall trees. It’s rife with nostalgia for childhood and summers spent in the wilderness. And her illustrations are darling and heartwarming.
If you’re the kind of person who has to have a mattress under them to sleep, pick up something else. But, if you’re the kind of person who remembers counting stars and running your fingers through the waves as you skip across the water, grab this zine. Then write to Chudolinska and suggest she expand this into a full graphic novel. That’s what I’m going to do. (Harley R. Pageot)
Mini Comic, Marta Chudolinska, artkeener.wordpress.com