Our Expanding Universe, by Alex Robinson
2015
One of my COVID plans was to read less new stuff, and fill up gaps in my comics knowledge. Reading something of Robinson's was on the list. His Box Office Poison was well-received when it came out, but I never read it at that time. Since then, I've listened to his one podcast, Star Wars Minute, for about eight years now.
I liked this book and found it interesting, but there was a little frustration with it too. His style is rooted in the indie books of the 90's, and I think it suffers from not being enough in any one direction. It's not super cartoony, it's not super realistic, it's not super dynamic. It reminds me somewhat of my own comics 
The first chapter or so, the art took me out of the story a bit, but after I got into the book, I could very much appreciate its consistency and clarity. That sounds like faint praise, but that's one of the biggest faults in comics: comics where I can't tell what's going on. It made it an easy read. And some pages he definitely takes more time on the art than others, and those pages stand out
The first chapter or so, the art took me out of the story a bit, but after I got into the book, I could very much appreciate its consistency and clarity. That sounds like faint praise, but that's one of the biggest faults in comics: comics where I can't tell what's going on. It made it an easy read. And some pages he definitely takes more time on the art than others, and those pages stand out  |
| I like the rendering in the top panel a lot! |
The story is about three adults of the same age but different stages. Two guys are married, one single. One of the married guys has kids, the other is hoping to. They're very clearly delineated characters. And though the guys are the main feature, the wives get their own space to tell their story too. Robinson is trying to portray a spectrum of characters. But because it's about 30-somethings just living life, there isn't so much happening; or at least what's happening is done through dialogue more than action. It's really interesting dialogue, but you could see this being done as a stage play as much as a comic.
Netflix has some similarly toned dramas, like Love or Easy, and I'm very happy to see adult stories that deal with what we think and what we do in our lives. So it's a good, solid book. Not mind-blowing, but not every book has to be.
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