< comics/x >
ARCHIPELAGO #1 & 2
by Sharon Furgason
($2.00 for #1, $1.50 for #2 from Sharon Furgason / PO Box 5735 / Astoria, NY / 11105 USA. Web:
www.inkylagoon.com)
Reviewed by Henry ChamberlainIn Sharon Furgason's first issue of her mini-comic series,
Archipelago, a small collection of stories from a young woman exploring her world, the best story is "Nancy" and the best panel is the second panel from the same story: a confidently drawn portrait of the girl with a sleepy smile and a neatly drawn classroom in the background. In fact, that whole page is impressive: the cute little kick, the clumsy hand clasp, and the lollipop.
"Nancy" is a sweet little gem about a very young couple not quite ready to be a couple. Both the boy and the girl are too self-absorbed to really appreciate the other and are tenously held together by a little spit and sugar between the two as they hold hands. The whole idea of Nancy's hand, all warm and gooey from her fixation with candy will definately stick with you.
It is this sort of energy that will serve Sharon well as she matures as an artist. Based on the second issue of
Archipelago, there seems to be a bit of a regression. But things seem to be developing with a recent project,
Nina the Librarian, which can be sampled on her
website.
A review in the current issue of
The Comics Journal, #266, will certainly help spread the word. Sharon now just needs to pace herself and she could rise to the level of someone like Thomas Herpich who employs a similar crisp light line in a masterful way in
Cusp (published by Alternative Comics in 2003).
[ Link to this review ]
