Forlorn Funnies
By Paul Hornschemeier
Published by Absence of Ink
The first issue of this, the best new comic of 2002, was an issue-long experiment with form. Paul Hornschemeier, whose gift for creating comics places him solidly in the company of (for now) better-known cartoonists such as Chris Ware, Dan Clowes and Robert Crumb, quickly threw down a challenge to comics and its readers: Beat this.
I am reasonably sure Hornschemeier doesn't see it that way. He appears way too humble to realize how striking his talent is, and this second issue leaps above and beyond the title's debut into a different mode entirely. But I've yet to see any other comic book writer or artist reach this high, this successfully, this year. It's safe to say that nothing, even, in the first issue of Forlorn Funnies prepared any of us for this.
"Mother, Come Home" begins in this issue, and occupies it fully. The cover actually tells much of the story, but you have to read the story first to understand that. Hornschemeier manages to convey a great deal of information on the cover, and I found myself flipping back to it repeatedly as I took in the story itself, posited as the memoir of the little boy on the left wearing a lion mask.
Thomas Tennant is the young man in question, and the story appears to be told from his point of view, and yet like Citizen Kane a little reflection reveals that it's not possible for him to know everything that is revealed in the story. Whether we are receiving multiple points-of-view, then, or Thomas's interpretation of events and guesses as to what others were experiencing, is as yet unknown. I'm edging dangerously close to spoiling the story already, too, so I'll move along to something else.
The debut issue could be seen as a single story or as many short stories, a technique not repeated here. Yet Hornschemeier manages to work in multiple artistic techniques that are put to good use in service of the story he wants to tell. That story, like so many of history's great narratives, is in many ways told not so much in what we're seeing as in what is not revealed. Forlorn Funnies, as always, rewards careful attention and multiple readings.
As with the first issue, Hornschemeier casually throws out some new icons that will immediately embed themselves permanently in your psyche: The lion mask. The stuffed kitty, which almost certainly comes from a popular cartoon on this world.
Readers of Hornschemeier's incredible ex falso quodlibet know that he's capable of cutting deep into human emotion and the sense of loss. In Forlorn Funnies #2 you'll find the cartoonist working in a style at once more naturalistic and more surreal (always a paradox, Hornschemeier), with a narrative more complex, and ultimately more moving. This first part quietly builds and builds until Thomas's world, all he has left, falls in on itself. A lifetime of sorrow may follow, but we'll need to read the rest of Thomas's memoirs (and the next issue) to be certain.
There's so much about this issue that makes it a worthy follow-up to #1 and another on the short list of the best comic books of the year. Aside from the astoundingly rich and emotional story, enormous attention has been paid to the details of the production. The subtle colours are reproduced flawlessly, the cover and paper stock are perfect and complement the tale they carry, and the design of the memoirs and the way they lead us into the story are clearly the work of a creator and a publisher who actually care how their books look.
Absence of Ink is small potatoes compared to bigger publishers like Fantagraphics, Drawn and Quarterly and Top Shelf, but AoI's output has matched those larger companies with top-notch talent turning out the best comics the 21st Century has to offer so far. Forlorn Funnies #2 solidly reinforces AoI's reputation as a great publisher of comics for grownups, and it reinforces my belief that Paul Hornschemeier is one of the most gifted and accomplished cartoonists alive today.
And his goddamned comic book is beautiful, thoughful entertainment. Grade: 5/5
Read: Forlorn Funnies #2 Preview