Crespo, Jaime – Tortilla #3

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Tortilla #3

Have I ever mentioned my inevitable first reaction whenever I get a comic with a text story in it? Invariably, it’s “huh, this probably would have made a good/great (depending on the quality of the story) comic.” Which is odd, as I read plenty of novels and books of short stories. But hey, if it’s in the middle of a book of comics, it makes total sense, right? Anyway, Jaime has been on a bit of a roll lately, and he keeps that going here. Things start off with another chapter from his upcoming “Turk Street Serenade” graphic novel, and he’s wisely going to stop putting those chapters in his comic now, as why give away the whole thing for free? Well, not free, but you know what I mean. This chapter deals with him having a shitty day (in more ways than one) at work and his confrontation with a jerk. I can say no more, but it’s always funny to see assholes get their due. Next is the text story I mentioned before dealing with Jaime’s lifelong troubles with math, going back to his early days in middle school and the methods that his teachers used to get him to learn. Well, teaching him wasn’t really their goal, as he lays out in detail, but they seemed to think that cruelty could maybe do it all by itself. Finally there’s a story told from the perspectives of two very different people up until their eventual meeting. It’s another solid mini, and to be fair I do get why Jaime would do a text story instead of a comic about his math troubles: it would have been a lengthy and complex comic and hey, it’s not like him writing this story prevents him from ever making it into a comic. Check it out, and I’m really looking forward to him completing that graphic novel. $3