Comic World News

April 22, 2008:
CWN and the Grand Finale! -

February 4, 2008:
In Conclusion - David ends his CWN run with Tezuka's MW from Vertical

February 2, 2008:
Acting Like You Have Nothing to Prove -

February 2, 2008:
The Shoegazer Returns - A New Year Begins, And Our Narrator Makes A Pledge

January 30, 2008:
Tim's Reviews -

September 13, 2007:
Wizard World Chicago Loot, Part One - Stykman, Empty Chamber, the Ztarian Saga, and yes, Little Bunny Foo Foo

February 15, 2007:
I Come Not to Bury Nick Cage... - But to mourn the death of my punchline

November 20, 2006:
The End - Rich's last Chicks & Romance

November 8, 2006:
Joann Sfar's Klezmer - And a Front Racks Hiatus

October 4, 2006:
This Month's Guest: Dave Gibbons - From the pages of Elephantmen!

September 18, 2006:
Back in Berlin - or How I spent my summer

July 29, 2006:
KICKING UP A STORM - An interview with David Lloyd

June 19, 2006:
You Ain't Never Had A Friend Like Me. - Graeme looks at Spidey's "genies"

December 18, 2005:
Disappointed - Sad news for fans of Busiek's CONAN, Stephen King, and others

December 13, 2004:
JUSTICE UNPLUGGED 2 at last !!! - By Fabrice Sapolsky & Xavier Fournier

December 2, 2004:
THE TWELFTH AND FINAL STEP - Say it ain't so, Dan.

November 23, 2004:
The importance of editing -

September 29, 2004:
Mystery and Conundrum indeed! - Where in the world is Jason Pomerantz?

September 13, 2004:
Hello and Goodbye and Hello Again - Change is in the air at CWN and it smells sweet.

August 12, 2004:
The Rise of the Web Toon - New Business Model or Dumb Luck?

July 30, 2004:
The Name Says it All... - Spin Doctors revamp Boomerang.

July 27, 2004:
Bigger Isn't Always Better -

June 8, 2004:
Pre-emptive Strike: MoCCA Arts Festival - Looking forward to the con, rather than looking back at it

The Layer Method
Our top Secret time-saving technique for creating and merging balloons and tails in Illustrator.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Waterwise

Review by Michael May

Written by Joel Orff
Illustrated by Joel Orff

Published by Alternative Comics
$14.95

Jim and Emily are old friends. They grew up together, but like most old friends do, they eventually grew apart as well. Waterwise tells the story of their chance meeting near Emily's cabin where they used to spend summers teasing each other and exploring. Jim's come back to get away and sketch after breaking up with his girlfriend. Emily's taking a breather between the divorce she just went through and the new job she's about to begin in another state. Neither expected the other to be there and as they spend an afternoon and evening together, they begin to find comfort in the familiarity of one another.

It's a beautiful thing when a storyteller is able to perfectly capture and express feelings that you've experienced, especially if you haven't had those feelings in a long time. I've never had the opportunity to reconnect with a childhood crush, but I've certainly known that timid uncertainty of trying to figure out if this person whom I'm so crazy about has the same feelings for me. I've been happily married for eight years; I don't wonder anymore whether the love of my life loves me back. And weird as it is, sometimes � not often, but sometimes � I miss that marvelous, old, nervous insecurity of trying to figure her out.

So when Jim and Emily's hands get very close to each other as they share popcorn from the same bowl while watching TV, I actually feel the electricity inside me. When they steer their boat into the tall rushes on the edge of the lake and are completely hidden from the world outside, without Orff having to spell it out, I know the thrill they're experiencing. I've felt it in a dozen different new relationships throughout my life and it's wonderful to feel it again.

The art contributes to the process. The opening pages track Jim's progress as he carefully sketches his former girlfriend from memory, showing us in a bittersweet way how reluctant he is to let go of what he's lost. When Emily shows up and she and Jim begin to rediscover one another, the backgrounds morph into beautiful, expressionistic landscapes and architecture, further connecting us to the romantic seclusion the characters are feeling. Towards the end of the book, as evening has deepened, Orff's liberal use of black perfectly conveys the uneasy loveliness of a dark, country night. At one point Emily completely disappears into the ink as she goes off to look for a stray badminton shuttlecock. We see nothing, only hearing her voice as she searches, and we feel Jim's relief as she reappears a couple of panels later. Anyone who's been out away from city lights at night will be able to relate to operating in complete darkness like that. And will likely recall how unbelievably romantic that experience is.

It's the grandest kind of nostalgia, going back and experiencing these emotions, and Orff is so skilled at pulling them up that the reader's relationship to the characters is the very definition of the word "invested." We care about what happens next to Jim and Emily, because we've become Jim and Emily and it's a lovely, moving experience. It ends perfectly with a moment frozen in time, never to be forgotten by either Jim or those reading about him. Now that I've written this review, I don't even want to put the book on my bookshelf, because I know I'm going to want to experience it again soon.

<< Previous Article

Next Article >>

• Discuss in the Reviews Forum •

Reviews Archives