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Allen, Jon – Nine Short Works

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Nine Short Works

Would you believe that this comic has nine short stories in it from Jon? Shocking, I know. A good chunk of them are available for free at his website, just in case you wanted to look them over before continuing here. It’s a solid bunch of stories that range all over the place, but one continuing theme throughout is quiet. There’s not a wasted word to be found, and everything that is said is relevant. Stories include a piece about a fight that got of hand between a couple of kids (and the loser of the fight in his later years), a chat between a woman and her mother about the things that get revealed if you watch the person you’re dating for their reactions to a movie, a day alone at a fancy home, the random kindness of a jump and the weird stuff in the guy’s back seat, a stupid death and the entrance requirements to heaven, and a boy with a dead bird. Other pieces that were a little more interpretive (not that those pieces above are exactly cut and dried) include images of a Chinese restaurant, the stars disappearing and a series of escalating images and messages. I’d go into more detail with that one but it lost me, so you’re on your own there. Anyway, it answered any doubts I may have had about the guy, so that’s a good thing, even if all of the stories perfect. A solid majority of them work for me. As for the price, your guess is as good as mine. It baffles me that a book that’s this well put together would make you guess such a thing, and his website isn’t any help. $7? Sure, let’s go with that.