Word: nathaneal
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Take the bucket seat out of your old Chevy, put it on a wood frame in the middle of a field and sit in it. Now you know what it feels like to read Tom Galambos' comix novella "All the Wrong Places" (Laszlo Press; 74pg; $14.95). Nathan, the protagonist, sits in his Chevy couch a lot. He does it on the cover. It must feel internal yet expansive, comforting yet lonely - exactly like reading this thoughtful book...
...Nathan, an only child, cares for his ill mother at home in an unnamed state. Once on a thriving farm, the house now sits in a giant, fallow field, isolated except for the occasional visitor. Chief among these is the narrator, Richard, Nathan's best friend and a bit of a moralizer, and Jessica, the friend that Nathan has a secret crush on, but who's engaged to another. Things change suddenly for Nathan when Jessica sleeps with him, but has severe morning-after regrets. As if this weren't alienating enough for Nathan, his mother passes away...
...Wrong Places," has a quiet contemplation about it that comes as much from the actions of the story as from the portrayal of those actions. A typical moment goes like this: in the midst of Nathan explaining his mother's deterioration Richard bends over, saying, "Nathan..." Grabbing a blob in the grass, he continues saying, "...you dropped a sock." Nathan, with laundry basket in hand, takes the sock and says, "Thanks." This seemingly pointless, interfering sequence could be mistaken for a waste of three panels. But really it's a gift; an act of artistic generosity...
...Galambos has narratively re-created the space of Nathan's environs. Nathan lives in an empty farm with no visible neighbors. It makes sense that a story about his life would involve sequences of just looking. It's almost magic the way Galambos packs in so much emotional action into a mere 76 pages while taking lots of time-outs for iced tea and sitting down. He uses the unique visual pacing of comix to insert moments that force us into Nathan's state of mind. At one point Nathan says to Jessica, "I'm sorry if you get bored...
...like nudity. I like musicals. So what, I figured, could be better than a combination of the two, assuming Nathan Lane wasn't involved? You can imagine my dismay in discovering that not only does the movie Moulin Rouge contain absolutely no nudity but the characters sing unmusical rock songs like Up Where You Belong and Smells Like Teen Spirit. I hadn't felt this disappointed since learning that Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a children's movie...