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Spectacles Reviews
Comics
Buyer's Guide #1207
"Publishers' Picks"
Our retailers
recommend: Spectacles #1: A-
Phil Mateer: Jon Lewis' Spectacles #1 is an interesting combination: two of its three stories are slice-of-life vignettes à la American Splendor or Lowlife, while the third, the first part of a continuing story, uses elements of Norwegian folk tales to tell a story set in modern-day Minnesota. This way, if you appreciate mythic resonance, you're happy, and if you like small-scale closely observed "reality" fiction (where the plot involves things like the hero getting up early and going to the bank to cash a check), you're happy, too. Lewis, whose previous work includes True Swamp (which involved antrhopomorphic animals in, yes, a true swamp), has a wide, skillful range as a storyteller. If you like your art all scratchy and "Image-realistic" you won't like this, but if you don't mind cartoony drawings and a genuine eye for detail in the scripts, then this is worth checking out. Grade: B
Cliff Biggers: Spectacles is an adequately entertaining comic book, but its clever writing and stylish art are marred by mediocre lettering that detracts from the overall appeal of the title. You don't appreciate great lettering until you read a comic book that suffers for the lack of it; this is such a title.
Carol Denbow: Jon Lewis' new title, Spectacles, shows much improvement in terms of his art style and layout over his Xeric Award-winning True Swamp. Most of the stand-alone stories are the kind of sharp-witted slice-of-life observations for which Lewis is known. It is interesting to see him move to a more reality-based story, as his observations now illuminate some ups and downs we all experience in our lives. Lewis is very good at picking the ray of hope ouf of the humdrum of ordinary existence. I look forward to the next issue already! Grade: A
Steve Ginsberg: Main man Mo uncharacteristically greets the morn in "The Land of the Early Bird." Having trained himself to live on two meals a day, due to budget considerations — sounds like a comics retailer I know — he is "suddenly faced with three meals, since his day started early." Such a traumatic dilemma is only matched by a possum walking through the cat door and other humdrum daily occurrences. As creator Jon Lewis tells us, "Every person's life contains ... things worthy of a story." Give it an "A" for autobiographical.
Tom Lawton: Spectacles comprises three slice-of-life stories including one — "The Frost Changes" — that is a slice of no life that I've ever known. "Land of the Early Bird," however, with its protagonist's idyllic naivete over the power of an early morning rising, reminds me of my own stupid reveries when everything seems possible and a new life is attainable just by waking up an hour earlier each day. Jon Lewis captures perfectly the swift fall from such lofty plans when an interminable wait in line at the bank brings the inevitable exhaustion.
Images, characters and likenesses © and TM Jon
Lewis