And now a slight change of pace, not least because this comic involves good clothes.

Me and Edith Head, originally published in an issue of CICADA Magazine, was nominated for Best Short Story in last year's Eisners.  Now it's been brought back into print in its own right.  Given that the story clocks in at fifteen pages (black and white), it's have to be pretty damned impressive for me to recommend it.

And it is.

This is a comic about clothes, a subject that I couldn't care less about.  But then, at the beginning, nor does the lead character.  Katrina Lansdale auditions for the school play and doesn't get into the cast.  She's lumbered with doing the costumes instead.  After some inspiration from Edith Head's book How to Dress for Success, Katrina begins to rethink her position.  Meanwhile, her parents are getting a divorce.

Author Sara Ryan wrote a novel called The Empress of the World and, as far as I know, has done nothing else in comics.  She is unfairly good.

It's beautifully told.  Despite the short page count, there's an immense amount of material contained in here, and nothing wasted.  It has wonderfully realised characters, and it touches on a whole range of issues without ever losing sight of the core idea.

This is a great piece of storytelling.  It's a coming of age story, of course, and you can never go wrong with a classic theme done well.  But it's also a story about finding something new to love.  Any writer who can make me identify with a teenage girl's interest in fashion is doing very well indeed.

Art is by Steve Lieber, and everyone who's seen Whiteout already knows how good he is.  (Anyone reading this who hasn't read Whiteout should rectify that immediately by picking up the TPB.)  He's able to pack detail and content into every panel without ever compromising the clarity.

All comics should be this good.  This is how to do it. 

Rating: A+

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