MadInkBeard

Hunter & Painter by Tom Gauld. Buenaventura Press, 2007.

I’m a big fan of Tom Gauld’s comic work. His minimalist drawing, subtle but skilled use of the formal elements of comics, and his dry humor combine to make work that is a pleasure to read and examine. But the range of his stories is starting to work against him. Guardians of the Kingdom and Move to the City (both links go to my reviews) told stories of two companions in some kind of situation (guarding a wall, going to the city). Hunter & Painter again features two characters, this time in the stone age: one a hunter, one a painter. All the hallmarks of Gauld’s work are there, but this one just feels like a paler shadow of the other, stronger works. The danger in working with such a limited range is that comparisons are too easy and weariness may set in quickly with the reader.

This isn’t to say that Hunter & Painter is a bad comic. It is amusing and Gauld has lost none of the charm of his drawings, but if you’ve read a number of his other comics, you may experience the same feeling I did. Still, this is probably the most available of his works in the US, so it may not be a big problem.

I do want to share one page/strip from the book (click on the image for a larger view) which is really well done:

The cave that begins and ends the strip has a nice symmetry to it, staying the same size in each image despite the change in panel size. Here, like in much of Gauld’s work, the humor works with the rhythm of the panels and word balloons. The Hunter’s disappointed reaction to the painting is emphasized by the way his words are split into three balloons across two panels, drawing out his hesitant reaction. The blank panel at the right compliments this with a pause following the Painter’s comment, kind of like the classic trope of the crickets chirping in the night. The transition from panel three to four with its repetition and slight movement is reminiscent of Harold Gray.