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SALMON DOUBTS
by Adam Sacks
($14.95,
Alternative Comics;
Adam Sacks)
Review by Henry Chamberlain
Salmon Doubts, the graphic novel by Adam Sacks, published by Alternative Comics, is riding the current wave of cute comics and doing quite well. It is a
"cute" comic in its content and aesthetic: a spare drawing style and layout in the service of a seemingly straightforward story. Think of it as a
Finding Nemo for alt comix. The title basically describes the action. Instead of a little fish trying to find his son, a salmon is trying to find himself.
You won't, of course, find Pixar wizardry in the undersea world of
Salmon Doubts but Sacks does keep the pace lively with well crafted composition. A
successful artist knows how to execute a pattern and this graphic novel certainly requires a whole lot of fish choreography. With a sure hand, Sacks guides the eye through not just one salmon's journey but all the other players are depicted with care in one delightful sequence after another.
The writing is just as excellent. Meeting the challenge of drawing so many fish, Sacks also meets the challenge of creating compelling characters from fish that look just like the next fish, which is much of the point to this story.
These salmon, you soon discover, are a metaphor for our own life's journey. We can be like sheep or salmon, as it were, and join the crowd or we can be free thinkers. But never forget: follow, lead, or venture off, in the end, we all must perish. For all its cuteness,
Salmon Doubts is, without a doubt, also a successful existential comic.
If you read this with your child, be prepared to answer some big questions but also feel comfortable in the fact that it could help answer questions too, not the least of which is, "Where do baby salmon come from?"
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