Tricked

I like slice-of-life character pieces, and from reading Box Office Poison I knew that I was in for a treat with Alex Robinson's other work.  I picked this up at this year's Toronto Comic Arts Festival (the cover itself is worth the purchase for design geeks). 

It takes just a little while to get used to the rhythm of the book, especially considering that we're following six main characters - but Robinson wisely makes each player and their story pretty unique, so it's not exactly difficult to tell them all apart.

It's hard to really commend something like this - I liked it.  It was a nice casual read, great characters who I loved and loathed (as they were designed to), but this isn't the kind of book that everyone is going to love - so proceed with that in mind.  If you like character based drama - go for it.

Box Office Poison

I picked this up on a whim over a year ago at The Beguiling (excellent comic store in the Annex in Toronto).  It's kind of your typical indie-comic in the sense that it's about a group of twenty sometimes right in that point of their life where they need to either shit or get off the pot.  What's atypical about it is that it's presented in a way that's extremely real.  It's not about building towards a happy or a sad ending, it's just moving along.  It has a conclusion, sure, but life will continue on past this.  Some looks good - some looks okay.  Sometimes people grow and get over their shit - sometimes they don't.  This book doesn't try to give everyone a super rewarding arc - that doesn't happen in life.  So those looking for a more traditional three-act structure may find themselves wanting more from this offering, but for those who love realistic slice of life pieces then this is probably right up your alley.  And don't let the size of it scare you off (600+ pgs), you can get through it in a few days of off-and-on reading. 
Box Office Poison