Having previously reviewed Jordan Crane’s Keeping Two for Pipedream Comics, I was thrilled to see an exciting new collection of his works being published at Fantagraphics this year. For the first time ever, all of Crane’s short stories are collected in one volume – from self-published zines, to submissions in anthologies – in a deluxe, shiny, compendium: Goes Like This.
Perhaps the aspect that immediately draws the eye about Goes Like This, is the unique way in which it is presented: a shiny cover with holographic elements and a colourful, exposed spine, showing how the stories literally weave together – this is certainly a beautiful collector’s item for all Crane fans. And the eccentricity doesn’t stop on the outside, for within, the collection includes varying paper stocks, from matt, to lux and shiny – with all styles of comics present too; full colour and black and white, sketches and abstract, but also in incredible detail and colour. Rounded off with never-before-seen prints and drawings from the author’s archives, visually, this is a treat to simply flick through and admire. But do the stories hold up?
There isn’t a specific tone that Crane adheres to within these short stories, as can be expected from a collection that spans many years – the compendium includes wild westerns, gothic, romance, murder, sci-fi and so many other genres. This eccentric mix also comes across visually on the cover design, which takes elements from many of the stories, superimposing them on top of each other, and making the meaning hard to decipher. Despite the somewhat confusing cover, I can confidently say that Crane sticks the landing with every single unique tale. One thing I loved about his previous publication was his ability to craft an intriguing narrative, one that holds your attention right the way through, and keeps the reader invested in the characters and world-building. Crane certainly also achieves this here. No mean feat in a much smaller and limited capacity.
Narratively, the comics are rather dark in tone. From Western to wordless, each comic comes with its own nightmarish introspection. The tone is set with the first, one-page, wordless comic, Going Inside Out, in which a man slices off his face, revealing a multitude of ‘mini mes’ living inside him, clamouring to escape. Below the Shade of Night is more traditionally illustrated in black and white pencil sketches, and follows the fall-out of a young man and his family when he accidentally crashes into, and kills, another driver, whilst driving recklessly. In The Middle Nowhere, a man who is lost at sea is stolen away to the depths and tormented by a siren, who seeks his soul.
Vicissitude and Trash Night are two chapters of the same story, focusing on a relationship in which the protagonist, Leo, feels unable to confront his partner, who he knows is cheating on him, leading to violent thoughts and tendencies. There is occasionally a shorter comic to break up the doom and gloom, or one with a less bleak ending, but overall the comics are pretty devastating (in the best way possible). They are also segmented by never-before-seen, full colour drawings by Crane, my favourite of which was a sea-monster who devours sailors at sea by scooping them into his gaping mouth.
Visually, Crane is a chameleon, adapting his stylistic choices and colour palette to the tone of the narrative. So much so that, without knowing that all the comics are Crane’s, I wouldn’t be able to identify many of them as all being by the same artist. Whilst having a staple style is wonderful, I also think that having many different artistic styles is intriguing; it’s a way to always keep things fresh and interesting, and certainly demonstrates a long and lucrative experimental career in comics.
This is my second time reading a volume of comics by Crane, and, after seeing the magnitude of talent on display in this collection, it certainly won’t be my last.
Jordan Crane (W/A) • Fantagraphics Books, $39.99
Review by Lydia Turner
