TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS
CARTOONIST: Jeffrey Brown
ISBN: 1-891830-66-X; digest-size collection
96 pp., B&W, $8.00
MINISULK (or Miniature Sulk as it reads on the cover) is a 3.8 x6.25 inches, 96-page collection of previously unpublished work from cartoonist, Jeffrey Brown. Top Shelf also dropped a book collection of Brown’s superhero parody, Bighead, last summer. Minisulk, actually, is closer to Brown’s short story, “It’s Your Lucky Day,” that appeared in the second issue of the anthology, Blood Orange, last year.
Brown is not the most accomplished draftsman as a cartoonist, but pretty pictures when it comes to cartoons is somewhat overrated. Brown simply makes his point. Whatever he’s trying to say and whatever story he’s telling comes through the visual presentation. He deftly captures a moment in time, an emotion, a feeling, an opinion, a lie, or an incident in each of his short tales.
For instance, “Snow Parking,” which involves a man parking on someone else’s property because of heavy snowfall, feels so real; it’s like watching the incident in first person. A fleeting sense of sadness and a burgeoning sense of hope permeate “To Wenatchee,” and the connection between the characters feels real, leading me to hope for more much work from Mr. Brown. B+
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