This comic, published by Edition 52, greatly amused me. Joe Matt is one of the "autobiographical" underground comic artists, and in his approximately 170-page work, he tells the story of his messed-up life. Joe is often mentioned in the same breath as Art Spiegelman and Harvey Pekar, who are also associated with this comic scene. Artistically, he is relatively minimalistic, which brings a lot of expressive power to his images and characters!
About the comic:
Joe is stingy, has little money, is selfish, totally uptight, shy, and obsessed with sex. He spends a lot of time with his cartoonist friends Seth and Chester Brown, lamenting about relationships. Chester and Seth often tease Joe because he has a very peculiar idea of what a relationship should be.
The first story is about Trish. They can't really talk to each other. They are constantly arguing. He doesn't behave particularly nicely towards her. He is indifferent and just wants to be left alone. She complains about his porn. At some point, Joe moves out. From the big city to the suburbs. Joe and Trish only see each other on weekends. Due to the constant mistakes Joe makes, Trish eventually leaves one day. He can't get over this relationship for the rest of the comic.
Nevertheless, he sets out to find a new girlfriend, which is very difficult for him due to his nature. On one hand, he has a very clear image of his dream woman and finds something wrong with every acquaintance. On the other hand, his personality makes it hard for him to interact properly with women. He doesn't like going out — it's too expensive for him, and he doesn't really get along with people either. When he meets a nice woman, he either rushes things or is initially blind with love.
In his comic, Joe Matt features very interesting supporting characters that he apparently met in real life (life writes the best stories). His annoying roommate from the apartment across the hall appears. They live together in a rented room at an old couple's place. He constantly borrows the second VCR from the husband so that Joe can secretly watch his porn. And then there's Joe's biggest fan. A musician in a punk band with a hot girlfriend that Joe immediately crushes on. This creates a nice conflict in the story, as the musician is not exactly faithful to her, and Joe struggles with whether to take advantage of this or stick to his newfound friend.
Joe meets several other women in his comic, but I don't want to reveal everything just yet.
The narrative style of the comic occasionally employs very funny methods. At some points, his daily routine is repeated over several pages. First, a fight with his girlfriend, then a conversation with his friends, followed by a scene where he tries to work but gets distracted again, and finally an attempt to reconcile with his girlfriend in bed. The individual moments span several pages, but somehow it still caught my attention. The comic almost lives off the witty dialogues. The plot and text are always very well balanced.
It is said that Joe Matt now lives in Los Angeles and still without a car, computer, satellite TV, or mobile phone, and is currently working on a new comic. As soon as it comes out, I will be one of the first to get it!!
ISBN 978- 3-935229-53-1
