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Disquiet


Disquiet Disquiet Disquiet Disquiet

Disquiet back

Noah Van Sciver

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£17.98

Page 45 Review by Jonathan

"Why'd you run away, Dad?"
"Huh?"
"From Mom and me. How could you do that? How could you be so selfish? We needed you."
"Hold on a minute."
"Not having you around really fucked me up. Mum had to work at an art store. We were poor. Where were you?"
"Is this what you found me for? To confront me?"
"I'm trying to understand you."
"If I could go back in time there's a lot of things I would do differently."
"You wouldn't have run out on us? You would've stayed with mom?"
"I wouldn't have married your mom."
"And where does that leave me? In the same spot?"
"You're a grown man now, Nathan. I'm sorry for any problems you have, but part of being an adult is to stop blaming your parents for whatever shortcomings you have. That's pretty basic."

The Archduke of downbeat returns with a collection of 14 shorts that range from the darkly comedic to just plain dark.

This selection of early and more current material showcases both Noah's prodigious writing talent and evolving artistic capabilities, covering tales such as the black and white 'Dive Into The Black River' and also 'Down In A Hole' that have that bittersweet impending car crash feel, and look, of his longer form SAINT COLE.

Then there are the more overtly humorous pieces such as the colour 'Untitled' that minded me of the brutally farcical FANTE BUKOWSKI. The second volume of FANTE I am delighted to report is well underway, and I did chuckle to see the not-so-great man of literature himself sat on a bench, note pad in hand, bottle at his feet, as a bonus extra between two stories. Plus Noah also revisits his love of the period yarn a couple of times (as in the sadly out of print THE HYPO: THE MELANCHOLIC YOUNG LINCOLN) with particular period linguistic vigour in 'The Death Of Elijah Lovejoy' about a Presbyterian newspaper editor who had dared to take a stand against the lynching of an escaped slave.

I only see Noah on an upward trajectory, I have a feeling there's much, much more to come from him. He seems such an unassuming chap as well, even down his recent assertion that he only has the 4th best moustache in comics! It's a real bushy belter of an '80s Tom Selleck Magnum PI number which I suspect and sincerely hope has been grown for entirely comedic effect. I am also intrigued as to who he ranks as 1, 2 and 3! He seems like a real sweetie, he must be because he's even managed to get his ex-girlfriend to write a very endearing and only mildly revealing foreword for him. Why am I not surprised he's a Belle and Sebastian fan?
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