A heartfelt and introspective masterpiece from one of comic’s true rising stars.
Written & Illustrated by Sina Grace
Cartoonist SINA GRACE returns to his roots with his most personal and intimate work since the 2012 charmer, NOT MY BAG. Taking over a decade’s worth of rarely-seen strips, drawings, and essays, presented alongside a slew of all-new stories, readers will get an uncompromising look at the journey Grace has taken to living his dream, learning to love, and trying to grow up.
Comes with FREE AUDIOBOOK download!*
I remember the first time I was introduced to the comic book world. My uncle Eric gave me a 1980’s era copy of “Spider-Man” for me to read and absorb. The heroic aspects of Spider-Man did not appeal to me all that much, but his personal life and interests outside of Spider-Man did. From that point forward, I was far more interested in the human elements that comics could tell. Personal, relateable stories always hit me in an area of my personality I typically have walled off to a lot of people. Sina Grace, however, has found a way to tap into it both for himself and for his audience.
This collection begins with a brief introduction into how Grace found his love for comics. For him, this was used as a coping mechanism for an absentee father and an outlet for his energy. Grace illustrates himself as a confused little boy who wants to be like everyone else. From panel to panel as he grows, Grace is becoming more confident in his abilities and as he sees himself. The expression on his face changes, his art is beautifully expressive and captures this in his body language the happier he gets. The panels feel as if they are in motion, putting me directly into the page and experiencing it has Grace did when it happened. The black & white art is free of distractions adding to the realism Grace is going for. This sets the stage for what to expect from this book going forward.
Later in the book, another moment similar to this one hit me so hard I had to stop reading. Grace, this time is in a therapy session at some point later in his life. The unseen therapist is attempting to persuade Grace into looking inside of his own mind for his feelings. Naturally, Grace is resistant to the idea, thinking he knows better than a professional therapist. When Grace finally gives in, he is put face to face with the greatest problem in his life: his father. Reading about Grace telling his father how he feels about him was emotionally draining experience for me. In a lot of ways, Grace and I intersect at this point in the book. While my father was always in my life in the traditional sense, he was never really there when I needed him. The constant need to impress him with my accomplishments and abilities is something Grace shows himself doing here. His face is shown as angry, anxious, frustrated, and scared, finally allowing these emotions to come out. As this conversation is happening there is a large black hole in the middle of a white page, to signify the emptiness he feels towards his father. Confronting his father for an answer, Grace falls into this hole more or less resigning himself to the fact he is not good enough.
I will not spoil how this ends, but Grace really gets a chance to shine with his art here. Inside the hole he shows his version of his ugly side, and what he thinks is a true hero. The two characters are very different, but in some way show how is Grace filtered through them. Grace has a very cartoonish style that does not exaggerate things to extremes. The negative side is someone who looks ugly, but in the way Grace sees himself with terrible clothes and no defining features. Where as his true hero side is larger than life, but still on his level in terms of size and detail. With the title of “Self-Obsessed” it is a little ironic in how grounded Grace makes these opposites of his personality. Perhaps it is a reflection of is insecurities or maybe the idea of these aspects are all balanced inside of his mind. Either way, this raw and emotional look inside reminded me of my own struggles as an adult. I can relate to the feelings of self doubt, as if you are not good enough to do what you are good at. My own personal struggle with depression – even my closest friends will tell you – is as draining as looking for an answer. Grace, unlike me, does not shy away from the fact that he is not a perfect person. His self doubt drives him to succeed even if he sets up imaginary obstacles to stop himself. A lesson I can learn for myself, even if it forces me to look at myself in a far better light. It was that nerve that was hit that brought me to an emotional moment I cannot begin to describe.
Continued belowFor the record, this is a complicated book to review properly. The narrative Grace brings up throughout the book has a common theme: himself. But there is no set order to things and this chaotic nature reads very much like the journal of a teenage girl. Each strip, page or collection has it’s own unique style that range from awkward to brilliant. The ones that comes off awkward are not labeled that way as a criticism, rather an artist who was looking to find his voice. Part of the appeal of this collection is that Grace did not gloss over his struggles as an artist. His harshest critic is himself and brutally so to the point of being uncomfortable. I imagine this must have been a very cathartic experience for Grace to let all these emotions spill out. He notes in a strip labeled “Fame” he doesn’t want to be famous or have awards, he is using his talent as a means to get his father’s attention. This is the essence of “Self-Obsessed:” Grace is looking for both his identity as an artist and his identity within his own life. It is heartbreaking as much as it is heartwarming, I found myself drying my own eyes at how real this felt.
Sina Grace boldly decided to go all out for this collection, leaving no personal stone unturned. Even if you might not identify with his lifestyle or orientation, Grace isn’t making it specific to him. The universal appeal here is off the charts. I firmly believe there is at the bare minimum one strip that every single reader can relate to. In my case, I felt many that reflect my life in so many direct ways. It was as if I was looking at a mirror of my own life through his art. For me, that was the part that hit the hardest and what separates Grace from all the others in his field. Looking at this collection as a whole, I cannot think of anything better to describe it besides the word, masterpiece.
Final Verdict: 9.6 – Easily this is the best collection of any comic this year. Sina Grace has crafted an essential collection for this generation of autobiographical comic creators. This is a must buy with my highest recommendation.
*Reviewer’s note, the audio book download was not available at the time of this writing.
