Matters aren’t so much depressing as blisteringly awkward in this, the twentieth issue overall of “The Li’l Depressed Boy”.
Written by Shaun Steven Struble
Illustrated by Sina Grace“IT’S NOT MY BIRTHDAY” Surprises abound as LDB meets Spike’s friends and family.
These past few issues have been close to happy for LDB. It’s not that there haven’t been problems – assault by a coworker being chief among them – but it’s hard to imagine LDB in a better place than he has been lately with Spike. I guess it’s no surprise, then, that this issue brings with it some excruciating moments, which neatly undermine all that the guy has built up so far.
As always, from the get-go, Sina Grace’s art has us immersed in LDB’s world. It’s the wordless panels that draw you in, with Grace’s simple but effective compositions getting across LDB’s isolation and introspection. There’s just something about seeing the guy framed by posters on a laundromat wall; he’d look out of place and uncomfortable even if he weren’t a burlap doll. Every pose hits just the right nuance, picking up another facet of LDB’s lonely journey through his day.
Again, as always, the clothes match beautifully with the characterizations – from Spike’s librarian-chic to how stiff and itchy LDB looks in his button-up shirt. As for the third most important character in this issue – well. It would be spoilery to go much further, but this character’s posing has an over-the-top flavour that adds even more tension to the situation.
You may notice a wonky panel involving a hand around a wine glass. Moments like these are few in “Li’l Depressed Boy”, but when they do crop up, it’s like a bad memory of mid-’90s clip art. Things teeter at the very threshold of kitsch; but then you turn the page and there’s another sparse sequence, with Grace’s chunky shapes judiciously employed, and we’re back in the realm of the affecting and understated.
So far as story goes, I do have a bone to pick – a bone-picking which I’ll preface by saying that I love the heck out of this comic just the way it is. These past nineteen issues, I have noted a disconnect between LDB’s state of mind and my own, and still enjoyed it, because – as the mainstream comic industry so often fails to acknowledge – it’s really not hard to enjoy reading about someone who is different from yourself.
That said, I’m starting to feel like LDB’s character arc isn’t so much an arc as a plateau. Of course, the comic is called “Li’l Depressed Boy” – we know what we’re in for. And one of the series’ greatest strengths so far is that it’s never been all depression, all the time, but the much more interesting interplay between hope and despair that makes LDB’s adventures so nerve-wracking to experience. All the same – and despite the improvement in his circumstances – LDB’s failure to do something, anything, in a decisive way, is starting to feel like a fatal flaw.
Again, all of this is subjective; this is an emotional comic, and judging by the letters at the back of every issue, there are plenty of readers who consistently identify with LDB. Actually, I think you’d have to be a shark-hearted monster not to feel for the guy on some level. It’s not LDB’s situation or his basic personality that’s failing to click with this reviewer. The underlying issue is this: with all the tribulations he’s encountered, has he really grown at all?
Maybe the reason I’m frustrated with this aspect of the series is because the comic actually is building up to some kind of shift in LDB, and I’m just missing the cues. The events of this issue certainly seem to be pushing matters to a crisis. Struble and Grace are excellent at nonchalantly hitting you in the feels, and it could be that impatience is exactly what they’re angling for.
In any case, it’s unfair to ask a comic to be anything other than what it is. And so far as consistency goes, I don’t think I can name a comic that has kept so close to the feeling of its first issues, without ever repeating itself. “Li’l Depressed Boy” is all about a state of mind, portrayed with heart and delicacy and understanding, and this issue continues effortlessly on in that vein.
Final Verdict: 8.5 – Continued subtle storytelling with a devastating emotional punch.
