The Playboy by Chester Brown

A friend at work gave me a copy of this book to read along with a stack of Eightballs (the comic, not the drug). I’m not, as I’ve written before, a big fan of indy, non-mainstream comics. Not necessarily a criticism of the scene at all, more just a taste of preference – I like big, shiny superheroes. I do get frustrated, at times, with B & W, indy books and their “slice of life” stories. I enjoy a story about shared, common, experiences and day-to-day banality, but only if there’s a point to it – I occasionally walk away from these things with a general feeling of, “Great. That guy fights with his family to. Yay.” You know what I mean? Just because an experience is normal & common, doesn’t make it interesting. That said, I did approach this with an open mind, expecting to like it fine but not have much to say about it.

This, as it turns out, is what I am looking for in my “slice of life” comics. This is a slightly sad, very funny, but raw and brutally honest story of adolescent sexuality developing in a socially awkward teen. I didn’t necessarily identify with every experience he has in this book – I won’t lie, identified with some of it – but the general feeling of unease with one’s own body, of embarrassment at your hobbies… this is something that, I think, most comics fans can identify with. Hell, this should be required reading for anyone who’s ever felt awkward and ashamed at simply being themselves.

The art, while simple, is very effective at focusing the eye on only what’s important. Unfortunately my scanner isn’t working, but every page follows a theme of solid black borders around one or two main images. It seemed like wasted space to me at first, but I like the idea that in this book, every little moment is important, deserving its own page, its own place in history. That seems to be the effect that Brown is going for, and it’s a very effective one.

Like I said, I don’t really follow the indy scene at all so it’s very possible this is generally regarded as a classic, and anyone reading this will think I’m some sort of philistine for only now discovering it. But if you’re like me, and generally haven’t found much to get excited about in the underground, give this a shot. If you’re like me, you probably spent a good portion of your life feeling awkward and out of place for no good reason, and this will speak to you.