Underwire

Underwire
Top Shelf
Jennifer Hayden

One of my favorite types of comic is autobiographical slice of life comics, something along the lines of the “Devils Panties” comic strip (no it isn’t porn) or something that mixes in a bit of fantasy with it like “Bob the Squirrel.” And that’s what I love about Underwire, by Jennifer Hayden, who captures those moments in life that you can relate to regardless of your age and gender. This collection is moving, evocative, and poignant. And I’m glad that Jennifer’s taken the opportunity to invite us into her life in these stories.

Jennifer shares with us stories about her daughter growing up and being able to recognize those moments when she’s starting to mature, such as when she has a show more watercress sandwich that’s a bit lacking in watercress. Or with reconnecting with old friends and scaring/welcoming the younger generation to connect with them and learn from them. Or sharing the memories and stories of her children, from battling adolescence to love to school Jennifer makes her life an open book.

Jennifer is funny, witty, and sometimes curses like a sailor (well not that bad, but she writes like she talks I imagine.) She pulls no punches and she holds nothing back in the stories she shares. Every aspect of the comic is easy to relate to because Jennifer writes the stories like she’s talking directly to us. I can imagine that we’re sitting on the front porch with her sharing a beer or a glass of wine while she just talks to us. At times we’re crying and at other times we’re rolling in the floor laughing with each other. Reading her comics is like sitting down with your best friend and catching up with whats happened since you’ve last seen them and never for a moment do you feel bored or lost.

Her art is evocative, and while rough and unrefined in some ways, is unpretentious and easy to relate to. She captures the essentials of the story and doesn’t bury the figures in extraneous detail. The lines are sure, steady, and captured in rock hard ink with no traces of hesitation (which trust me is not easy to do when you’re drawing with pen and ink.) According to the introduction she doesn’t even sketch them out in pencil first, just whips them out with pen and ink, which is not that common.

Jennifer Hayden’s comics rock. Pure and simple with no extra sauce added. And she’s got another book coming out later this year (also from Top Shelf) called “The story of my tits.” I highly recommend this work and I look forward to reading future works from Jennifer. show less