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Preview: Crickets #1
posted February 18, 2006

Another strong entry into the revitilization of the alternative comic book (see also
Or Else,
Tales Designed to Thrizzle,
Runaway Comics, and
The Secret Voice),
Crickets #1 is another fine-looking Drawn and Quarterly product, this one from the Los Angeles-based cartoonist, artist and anthology editor Sammy Harkham (
Kramers Ergot, the recent Gingko Press version of
The Poor Sailor). Harkham has long done wonderful work in terms of space and evocative narrative --
The Poor Sailor is downright soulful -- and in this debut issue it seems as if Harkham has begun to become more assured with the way he paces slower scenes. I found the following pretty hypnotic, even after the rousing action sequence that hopens the table, and even though the tableau it features remains static and neither character has the mental power to say anything by-itself interesting about the subject at hand. A hopefully twice-yearly comic book,
Crickets should be the place to see Harkham grow as a creator. Hey, I'm in.
D&Q's Tom Devlin says this comic could show up at your local retailer as early as this Wednesday, February 22nd.
Crickets #1, Sammy Harkham, Drawn and Quarterly, March 2006