Jar of Fools

Jason Lutes

I've read some pretty good graphic novels in the past couple of months, but Jar of Fools was impressive on levels that a number of them never even thought to explore; it was definitely the best of the early-January batch. You have a burned-out magician, dangerously close to being homeless, pining over his lost girlfriend. You have the lost girlfriend, also pining. You have the mentor, stuck in a rest home. You have the con man, trying to get money to feed his kid, who shortchanges the lost girlfriend. And in weaving this tapestry, you have a wonderful little story about love, loss, and sacrifice.

Lutes' touch is spare when he's drawing, and light when he's writing. There's enough here for you to understand what's going on without having to go back and re-read anything, but you'll make a mental leap or two while you're going through it (this is a good thing). Everyone here is rather simple, though in no way does that mean they're two-dimensional; Lutes creates complex characters, but the timespan of the book is so short that we only get to see what he wants us to. It's a subtle, and impressive, move.

This is really a fantastic book; definitely one worth checking out, whether you're a fan of the graphic novel form or not. This might be the perfect book to show you that they do stand as literature; it's not quite on the level of something like Charles Burns' Black Hole, but you're not going to invest as much time, either. A perfect place to begin.