Brown, Robert – Killjoy #2

Website

Killjoy #2

Ah, childhood. Last time around we got one long tale about camp, this time around we get several smaller tales of some of the more traumatic moments possible for a kid. Stories in here include the secret of Robert’s crush getting back to the source (I’m just assuming that the character is based on Robert because his name is “Robert,” but I have no idea if these are all things that actually happened to him. In some cases I very much hope that they’re fictional), getting in trouble for pushing down a kid that was making fun of him, the urban legend of concentrating hard enough to leave your body behind but then never managing to get back to your body, the forbidden thrill of watching something that you’re not supposed to be watching after your parents have gone to bed (and the way that the cartoon in question undercut their argument at a critical moment was priceless) and getting lost in a crowded space. That last one happened to me as a kid and let me tell you, it’s terrifying. All you can see is a tall, endless sea of people who aren’t your parents, and Robert nailed that image. Two issues in and this series is still delightful. The only way I could see anybody hating it is if they wanted to pretend that they were never a kid, but for everybody else you’re bound to find at least one story that you can relate to in a big way. $5