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DIARY OF A MOSQUITO ABATEMENT MAN
by John Porcellino

($12.00, La Mano, King-Cat. Available soon in the Poopsheet Shop)

Reviewed by Henry Chamberlain

In Diary of a Mosquito Abatement Man, John Porcellino has collected all the stories of his day job, from 1989 to 1996, as an exterminator which first appeared in his legendary mini-comic, King-Cat, and added over thirty pages of new material. What results is quite a unique book.

You start out with work from 1989: a young brash punk describing the basics of going out into the swamps to conduct business and progress to a lyrical passage, completed in 2004, recounting one particularly eerie night on the job by the mature artist. Then you sort of go back and forth with works created in 1994 and 2004 but all in the signature style and beautifully held together by the theme of a man's spiritual growth.

Commenting as he does on his journey to greater awareness, you lose yourself in gentle observations, some made during the process of growth and others with the benefit of hindsight. John observes a squirrel with paralyzed limbs which leads to seeing a girl weeping which leads to a scene of eating wild asparagus off the road, the very taste of spring. An attempt is made to free a bull who has stuck its head through a fence and this leads to a review of Buddhist teachings. Like a dream or a poem, John P. seeks out the essential truth with an intoxicating simplicity.

His spirituality informs his work in ways only John P. can render – no matter how many attempt to imitate him. The drawing, of course, is distinctively simple as is the writing. Simple and humble elements join together to create an energetic whole. Within this basic structure you will find work of great humanity and wisdom.

As independent comics strive to be heard by a larger audience and be acknowledged as an art form, it is works such as John P.'s that will show the way as they transcend comics while also exemplifying the art form. In its own gentle way, Diary of a Mosquito Abatement Man sends a powerful message of what is possible with comics.

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