Broken Frontier

No one can accuse independent comic writers of shirking their own life material.  There exist an equal (if not greater) number of slice-of-life autobiographical works hot off the small presses than any of the more mainstream-associated genre fare.  To say that newcomer Dino Caruso better have something worth talking about, then, to inaugurate his own eponymous brand of sequential storytelling is more than lip service: he better, or it’s gonna be lost and never again found amongst the towering stacks of similar such titles that’d intimidate even a pro publisher’s slush pile, such is the market’s current saturation.  So…Crossroads is one of his firsts, a one-shot detailing a particular, pivotal moment in the author’s life, thinly veiled as fiction (or, if this story is fiction, it’s thoroughly masked as not).   How does it fare?

Wonderfully well, actually, shockingly, nothing thrilling about the story itself, but the script and approach to rather run-of-the-mill subject matter allow for a sincere and poignant look at a universal experience, a coming of age romantic chord that’s twang should resonate with darn near everybody.  The plot follows a college-age narrator as he divulges a “crossroads” moment of his life to an unknown audience.  Writer Caruso plays it coy, and smartly so, moving his narrator through several seemingly important events and instances of uncertainty, forever stringing both his fictional audience as well as the reader toward the book’s title instant of true life-altering decision.  Being a book about young love (or rather, youth relationships, which, as the book attests, isn’t always about love or anything near so selfless), the story follows a clear and familiar path, though Caruso masterfully walks a fine line between cool reflection and heartfelt sympathy, the emotion of every moment present but not overpoweringly so, never choosing to slum it in sappier regions.

Caruso is joined by artist Paul Quinn, a man with a strong and simple style, appealingly akin to the old newspaper-strip style of Frank Bolle (Apartment 3-G), an aesthetic that more than enhances the classic drama of Crossroads.  Quinn maneuvers through an entire 20-page story consisting of little more than talking heads and quiet character interactions (and  between only three characters to boot!), yet manages to keep the reader’s eye and mind from wandering a scant anywhere before the covers are closed.

Crossroads is a deft example of how an autobiographical tale can be captivating with nary a “clever twist” or “original approach” in sight.  It’s a straightforward story smoothly written, exactingly illustrated.  It’s satisfying and a solid read.  Maybe it won’t stand out amongst the rest of the riff-raff, but it probably should.

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For ordering copies of Crossroads or other Caruso Comics, go to http://www.carusocomics.blogspot.com and send Dino a message.

An official website (www.carusocomics.com) is in the works, though it’s only a homepage for the moment (see date of this article above for an exact definition of “the moment”).