This summer’s ARC Festival was a triumph not just in terms of showcasing indie and experimental work, or the new discoveries we all may have made there, but also for the opportunity it gave us to acquire international small press comics in print. One such example from my ARC adventures is the Ignatz-nominated Them-Shaped Clouds by Max Huffman, an anthology comic from the creator of Dogtangle published by Fantagraphics. With an intriguing line in cynical surrealism and kinetic cartooning this collection of off-centre gags and weird characters embodying strangely resonant existentialist truths certainly has its own peculiar allure.
The immediate draw here, of course, is Huffman’s visual style – all angular characterisation and with occasional forays into the most bizarre forms of slapstick. Huffman’s use of colour too is exceptional, rooting the strips in the traditions of a more recent style of animation. It makes their social commentary, observational humour and self-deprecating wit all the more striking for the visual incongruity.
There’s around 36 pages of strips herein including a couple of Huffman recurring cast members. Some of the material asks the reader not so much to interpret it as to project their own meaning onto events. The “I’m Good” character for example, an anthropomorphised leporine protagonist whose struggles with social anxiety lead to encounters with a guru called the “Beige Mage” or doctor’s appointments that conclude with crackingly funny absurdist punchlines. The audience can enjoy them on a surface level of anarchic humour or, alternatively, find something more profound about the strains and stresses of modern living should they wish.
Similarly, the longest strip in the book features Huffman’s Whisnant character, described by the artist as a “suburban slackoid”, whose misadventures as a PinDropper (flying around over his town in a Google Maps-style giant pin) and giving star ratings to his neighbours that can result in wildly explosive consequences is both gloriously ridiculous and also replete with droll social commentary.
Other features of note include the self-effacing and presumably at least partially autobiographical ‘Godless City’ with its more muted colour scheme mirroring the maudlin reflective qualities of its pages. And ‘Our Finest Living Mind’ with its subtle comedic build-up and central character’s lack of self-awareness. Them-Shaped Clouds is an excellent entry point into Huffman’s distinctive approach to comics, and a recommended one to boot!
Max Huffman (W/A) • Cram Books, $15.00
Buy online from Gosh! Comics here
Review by Andy Oliver
