I’m not a big

I’m not a big fan of comics, partially because they are typically for kids (a gross over-generalization on my part) and partially because I associate comics with comic books featuring grotesquely muscled superheros, a genre which slipped into self parody and a non-creative state a long while ago.

However, I cannot say enough about Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth, a graphic novel (a term meaning “comics for grownups”) about a man, his life, his family, his loneliness, his despair, and his small place in this big, big world. The book was funny, creative, poignant, deeply personal, and so meticulously constructed (and meticulous is perhaps too weak a word for how detailed it is) that I couldn’t put it down. In a time when many believe they are invincible, extending their personas so far beyond the normal people they really are, perhaps Jimmy is the perfect anti-superhero role model.