Gaskin, Samuel C. – Sugarcube

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Sugarcube

Diabetes!  A couple of you, assuming you’re assholes, probably think it’s funny.  The rest of you either already have it or are living in fear of getting it, and according to my family tree it’s just a matter of time before I get some variation of it.  Well, that, heart disease, high blood pressure, all sorts of goodies.  Anyway, this comic is all about a man named Andy (I’m going to assume that this is fictional and not just a stand-in for Sam, but I have no idea) finding out at the age of 20 that he has diabetes.  If you have no idea what this entails this comic will serve as an excellent guide, as I learned all about having to inject yourself with insulin or test your blood sugar 7 (!) times a day, how having diabetes means you have to stop drinking (and try picturing getting that news at the age of 20), and how you need to have your medicine with you for every meal.  It’s a huge pain in the ass, in other words, and it’s a battle of constantly making adjustments.  Andy decided at some point in this book that he might as well smoke pot since he could no longer drink, but naturally he’s found out and made to feel shame.  Seems mildly ridiculous to me, but I guess he was still living with his parents at the time.  The rest of the comic is an understated journey of self-discovery, as Andy starts questioning everything about his life with his new forced maturity, and his friends and their partying ways don’t end up looking as good as he once thought.  This is a hefty comic, peppered with little observances of his new life and how it doesn’t seem to be coinciding with his old life all that well.  In much the same way that Ken Dahl’s Monster is a definitive portrait of herpes, this comic does a pretty great job of cornering the market on comics about diabetes.  If you prefer your information on this subject not to come with Wilford Brimley lecturing you, this comic is an excellent place to start.  Sam was also nice enough to send this copy along for my rental service because the cover is a little smudged and dinged up (but perfectly readable), an excellent idea for you other comics folks who are good with the idea and don’t know what to do with some of your slightly damaged comics.  Just sayin’…