Tim Ginger (Top Shelf Productions)

A Page 45 Comic Book of the Month
Creator: Julian Hanshaw

“Live the life you love...Choose a god you trust. And don't take it all so seriously.”

Ostensibly this comic is about a former test pilot who thinks he saw something on one of his flights and who lost his wife to an early death. However it is really a book that has a deep and profound theme applicable to almost every adult in the western world over the age of thirty. We must let go of the past to allow progress to a happier future. We don't forget the past and the people and places we knew, but they cease to act as a chain tethering us to something we can never return to.

In between the main tale are excerpts from a comic written by an old female colleague and object of mild flirtation, Anna. These all deal with people who decided not to have children, their reasons why and reactions to sometimes passive-aggressive queries as to why they have made this choice. These parts of the comic, whilst entertaining, don't really seem to add anything to it. I'd have liked them to act as a sort of comment on the main narrative, the classic example being the pirate comic excerpts in Watchmen, but they don't seem to function in this way, or if they do I'm missing it. In and of themselves however they are well designed, with a change to black and white and a page design that makes it appear you have just left the current comic and opened Anna's book yourself.

Overall this is a lovely book with a touching story. There is a hint of Kevin Huizenga about the art, especially in the opening aspect-to-aspect panel transitions, the occasional focus on wildlife, which to my mind acts as metaphor for the internal struggles of our protagonist, and in the line. Colour is s strong point too, with a very tight palette used effectively to indicate both time and place.

One final comment on the lettering. I like those subtle details which work on a subconscious level whilst you're reading, and there are a couple of these. The first is what appears to be a slight change to a more formal style when Tim and Anna first say hello when getting reacquainted over a cup of coffee after they have met again at a convention. Following the intial greetings, where they must have been nervous and slightly apprehensive, the lettering quickly returns to the more informal style which looks almost like handwriting and contributes to the feeling of intimacy we have with the tale. The second is where Tim's agent tries to start chatting Anna up, to which her exasperated “REALLY?” is all in upper-case. Small details but they help communicate the feelings of the characters in a very efficient and effective way.

There is a message that comes through strongly. We are all made of the stars, and a glimpse of the universe lets him know we are all connected, and out in the desert under in the almost total darkness you can see so much more of the universe than under the urban light-polluted sky. Don't be scared of the dark times. Once accepted they will help you to see the light that much better, and it can be quite majestic.