Pocket Full of Rain and Other Stories
If you were to ask a person on what they would attribute to Norway, graphic novels would probably not be the first answer given. For comic book fans, however, there’s one person that always springs to mind: John Arne Sætrøy, better know as Jason.
Since 2001, Fantagraphics has imported Jason’s original works and graphic novels, two of which won Eisner Awards for Best U.S. Edition of International Material (The Left Bank Gang and I Killed Adolf Hitler). For Pocket Full Of Rain And Other Stories ($19.95), the publisher reaches back to reprint the author’s first graphic novel from 1995, as well as material released in the Nineties, including his own comic, Mjau Mjau. Readers who have become familiar with Jason’s work will be surprised to see fewer anthropomorphized animals – one of his calling cards – and more dialogue. Fortunately, the surreal atmosphere is still heavy in the book.
The main story, “Pocket Full Of Rain,” opens with a man forced to dig a hole for himself by a gun-wielding tough guy who blows soap bubbles. The man eventually gets free from a neck-deep burial and goes looking for payback, popping up every few pages. The primary plot deals with Erik, a police sketch artist, and his developing relationship with a girl named Ingrid. One snag: Ingrid used to go out with the bad guy from the story’s beginning . . . and after he confronts Erik and warns him not to see her again, the young lovers grab a briefcase full of the antagonist’s money and make a run for it. Even in a story about love, peppered with observations about life, Jason had a knack of the oddness, if not two-legged animals (which is made up for on the cover of this book); Erik’s sketch subjects usually wind up looking like aliens, a zombie asks for money, and Erik and Ingrid have a picnic on the moon.
The short stories run the gamut from drama to simple comedy. The humor-driven stories usually come straight until the final few panels, ending with an wry comment, an odd finish, or in a few cases, a nameless gunman opening fire. The stories are universal; only one was changed to include references American audiences would get. Jason’s fan can read “Papa,” a story centering on Ernest Hemingway, who “starred” in The Left Bank Gang years later. The oddest entry is a three-pager entitled “X-Pilt” from 1998, which crossed The X-Files with Pompel and Pilt, a Norwegian puppet show for children. Even those with no access to Youtube can be amused seeing Fox Mulder and Dana Scully as puppets spouting odd dialogue.
Pocket Full Of Rain And Other Stories is a typical graphic novel from Jason: solid, nicely-drawn and covering the full range of emotions. Whether your tastes cover simple strips involving a convict and a cactus, satire of old-school science fiction, or short dramas, Pocket is full of stories for everybody.
Since 2001, Fantagraphics has imported Jason’s original works and graphic novels, two of which won Eisner Awards for Best U.S. Edition of International Material (The Left Bank Gang and I Killed Adolf Hitler). For Pocket Full Of Rain And Other Stories ($19.95), the publisher reaches back to reprint the author’s first graphic novel from 1995, as well as material released in the Nineties, including his own comic, Mjau Mjau. Readers who have become familiar with Jason’s work will be surprised to see fewer anthropomorphized animals – one of his calling cards – and more dialogue. Fortunately, the surreal atmosphere is still heavy in the book.
The main story, “Pocket Full Of Rain,” opens with a man forced to dig a hole for himself by a gun-wielding tough guy who blows soap bubbles. The man eventually gets free from a neck-deep burial and goes looking for payback, popping up every few pages. The primary plot deals with Erik, a police sketch artist, and his developing relationship with a girl named Ingrid. One snag: Ingrid used to go out with the bad guy from the story’s beginning . . . and after he confronts Erik and warns him not to see her again, the young lovers grab a briefcase full of the antagonist’s money and make a run for it. Even in a story about love, peppered with observations about life, Jason had a knack of the oddness, if not two-legged animals (which is made up for on the cover of this book); Erik’s sketch subjects usually wind up looking like aliens, a zombie asks for money, and Erik and Ingrid have a picnic on the moon.
The short stories run the gamut from drama to simple comedy. The humor-driven stories usually come straight until the final few panels, ending with an wry comment, an odd finish, or in a few cases, a nameless gunman opening fire. The stories are universal; only one was changed to include references American audiences would get. Jason’s fan can read “Papa,” a story centering on Ernest Hemingway, who “starred” in The Left Bank Gang years later. The oddest entry is a three-pager entitled “X-Pilt” from 1998, which crossed The X-Files with Pompel and Pilt, a Norwegian puppet show for children. Even those with no access to Youtube can be amused seeing Fox Mulder and Dana Scully as puppets spouting odd dialogue.
Pocket Full Of Rain And Other Stories is a typical graphic novel from Jason: solid, nicely-drawn and covering the full range of emotions. Whether your tastes cover simple strips involving a convict and a cactus, satire of old-school science fiction, or short dramas, Pocket is full of stories for everybody.
-Jason Borelli
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