Clancy, Kelly – Children & God #1

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Children & God #1

I’ve said it before on this website, and it’s as true now as it ever was: if you’re going to do good autobio, it helps to have something interesting to write about. Kelly has that down from the start, having spent years in Asia and Central America. This comic isn’t a linear progression of events; it could probably work just fine as a collection of short stories if that was the way Kelly wanted to go. It is all held together though by the idea of holding onto one’s identity in the face of oppressive rule (from the Russian’s in the 80’s) through all kinds of adversity. Subjects in here include celebrating while poor, prayer, finding places of beauty, holding onto language when you’re told that there is only one (new) proper way to speak, the quiet death of a community, and, above all, being a child and trying to live through all kinds of cultural changes. If this sounds like a lot for one mini to deal with, well, that’s true. I’ve rarely seen a comic come out of nowhere with this level of attention to detail, this much sheer artistry on every page, that also manages to tell such an important and compelling story. It’s a welcome reminder of why I keep plugging away at this website, in the hopes of getting work like this out to a slightly larger audience than would otherwise see it. $5