Monday, September 04, 2006

Minicomics Monday

The protagonist in Charles Burgoon's Odd is Graham, a regular misfit kid from a lower-middle class suburban family. Well, regular except for the fact that Graham has three extra legs, an outward symbol of his inner misfitness. Issue #6 finds a young Graham riding along with his older brother and friends while they are up to no good, leading Graham to 'squeal' and be subesequently ostracized. In issue #7, Graham is now a teenager, riding along with his own friends while up to no good. I've only read these two issues and I"m not sure if there's an overarching plot or exactly where Odd is going (and with over 5 years between issues, who knows if it will ever get there!) but I enjoy the way that Burgoon is able to capture the life of these kids and how he uses Graham's unspoken deformity as a metaphor for the way that all kids feel different and out of place.

(Alas, neither Burgoon or his publishing arm, Ghost Train Press, appear to have a Web preseance...)

(Mini comics can be notoriously hard to track down. Many artists sell them at conventions, and there are a few comic stores that will carry them. Your best bet is to try ordering them online, either from the artist directly, or from an online shop like Poopsheet.)

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