Jordan Crane

A man gets stuck in a spiral of catastrophic thinking when his girlfriend fails to return in a timely manner from an errand. A novel they were reading to each other during a car trip and that the man continues on his own to distract himself from the cascade of death and rape scenarios provides a story-within-a-story about a couple taking an ocean cruise in an attempt to deal with relationship issues caused by a stillbirth.

The worry and anxiety are universally recognizable, but then I have to show more wonder why I'd want to wallow in it with someone who can't stop, especially when the wallow seems to be the whole point of the story. And on top of the man's graphic images of worst-case scenarios, we're fed a stream of graphic images of suicidal ideation and self-harm from another character. Is the purpose to literally burn out my schadenfreude? A fresh take on torture porn horror movies? ("The calls are coming from inside your head!")

Then to really piss me off, it ends with a stupid extended psychedelic dream sequence. Thanks for wasting my time, Jordan Crane.

FOR REFERENCE

Collects material originally published in Jordan Crane's anthology Uptight (2006) #1-5 and then reprinted and continued in Keeping Two #1-8. show less

Crane does a lot of formally interesting things with comics here. I especially like the unclear manner in which the story is told, which mirrors the doubt/uncertainty the characters are experiencing. Page layouts and panel borders are used to create confusion, but in a way that also clearly tells the story. Unfortunately, I wasn't terribly interested in the characters or the story told within this book.

One aspect I did find interesting was the way Crane frames the way people interpret show more things. At one point, the two main characters are arguing about whether or not a book ends with the death of the main characters:

A: "It was awful and miserable...They die at the end."
B: "At the end they're alive...if they drown, that's because you are drowning them."

As someone who often finds hopeful, humanistic messages in endings that many people would call a 'downer,' I appreciate the way Crane points out how the same text can be read very differently by different people. People fill in the gaps of their knowledge with their own experiences. show less

I don’t remember where I first came across this book, but something about the description intrigued me. A young boy and his cat that skip school one day and climb a staircase to have adventures in the cloud…something about that just sounded magical and it went on my list of books to read at some point. I now wish that I had read it sooner, because it’s quickly become one of my favorite books that I’ve read this year with its fantastic illustrations and the absolutely charming show more story.

Simon and his rather fat cat Jack are running a bit late for school one day. His teacher, Missus Poe, has threatened to clobber him with a phone book if he shows up late again, so he and Jack try to sneak in…but they’re spotted! They quickly escape before getting clobbered and make their way to the roof where they encounter a magical staircase that takes them to the clouds. There they encounter a sad cloud named Perch, some nasty storm clouds, and a flock of birds that could use some lessons in manners (and perhaps some glasses since they keep calling Jack a dog.) Simon and Jack are off on a wild adventure like no other and before the day is done they help make a sad cloud happy, escape evil clouds, have a grand adventure and make it back to school…where perhaps Missus Poe might learn a thing or two.

To me this is just the perfect blend of whimsy and slightly dark humor to a storyline that makes it just right for all ages. The style reminds me a lot of the “Wayside School” series that I remember reading growing up and of the classic comic strip Calvin & Hobbes with that sense of daydreaming and wonder that we all have (well most of us have) growing up. That’s what this story captures so well, those moments when we’re bored and don’t want to have to do or obey the rules of reality, but instead have a chance to let our imaginations run wild and free. Who wouldn’t want to try to cheer up a sad cloud or take a staircase into the unknown? Crane’s story is perfect for the young and old and everyone in between. And if you don’t get at least one chuckle out of it you might need to get your pulse checked by your doctor.

I think my favorite thing about the layout of this book is that there is only one illustration per page, which just helps sell the story a bit more to me. Instead of trying to cram multiple panels on one page the reader gets to focus on the details and colors of just one panel. And what panels they are. Crane’s artstyle to me is reminiscent of older style comics and illustrated books, such as Where the Wild Things Are. The design of the characters with their simplistic, yet expressive faces are easy to capture the readers attention. The color palette chosen to me is reminiscent of something from the 60’s/70’s with the slightly faded neutral colors. Overall excellent.

Like I mentioned above this book has quickly become one of my favorite books of the year. Everything just works absolutely perfectly and that sense of wonder, that sense of exploration is something that we can all relate to and bring hope to an otherwise boring day. I’d highly recommend this little book to everyone and it should have a spot on your bookshelf. show less

The alternating storylines and jumping around through me a bit. But the more I read the more I was able to piece together this graphic novel. A young couple is going through a rough patch and their recent car ride has the tensions even higher. They are frazzled and annoyed with each other. They are both also reading and reacting to a book with "similar" struggles and both process that story a little differently. As the evening progresses they are both confronting their inner demons and show more evaluating how important they are to each other. Beautifully illustrated but at times a little tricky to figure out where the story is leading you. show less