The first half of Square features an interview with celebrity cartoon nostalgist Seth whose Palookaville comic is published by Drawn and Quarterly. The interview is portrayed as a cartoon itself, neatly parodying the confessional style of Seth and generally succeeding as a grim, muted portrayal of a great comic artist whose life is exactly, sadly, how it’s portrayed in his autobiographical comics. I love the part where Ian is thinking of what he really meant to say while Seth rambles on about the comment that did get stuttered out. That’s happened to me plenty of times during interviews, but it’s worst when you are talking with someone you really want to connect with. Anyway, the first half will appeal to comics fans, mostly, but probably doesn’t have a real general appeal. The second part is a semi-spoof of Spiderman. The Peter Parker parts are kinda funny but the plot is on the dumb side. Obviously Ian is a smart guy, so maybe I missed something here that I should have noticed. (HN)
comic, #2, 24 pages, Ian McMurray, free with $1 or postage, 758 Dupont Ave., M6G 1Z6