zine review:
Chapbook
Noah Van Sciver writes a comic called BLAMMO out of Denver, Colorado, which he supplements from time to time with little comic zines, such as this Chapbook. In it, he’s the main character – a hapless, dweeby guy with a slight inferiority complex. (I read that his older brother draws The Green Lantern…) While this may be sad for him in real life, it’s an amusing read.
His zine is built around the premise that people suck. The high school girls, restaurant employees, people’s moms… they all suck, and Noah must attempt to exist in a world where everyone is so lame. It’s Harvey Pekar. But it’s also pretty funny. And I’m all for superficial judgements, like hating on guys who wear hemp necklaces.
“My Life in Quotations” feels particularly fresh. Here, the immortal words of Homer, Benjamin Franklin and Pliny (the Younger… obviously) accompany Noah as he trudges through the day-to-day. While standing outside in the snow with a couple of grizzled, homeless-looking men, Noah is reminded by Plautus that, “He whom the gods favor dies in youth.” So true!
And, okay, full disclosure: I totally have a crush on this guy. (Sara Forsyth)
#1, Comic zine, Noah Van Sciver, 1165 Grant Street, #307, Denver, Colorado, 80203, USA, [email protected], US$1.50 plus postage