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SKETCHBOOK DIARIES Vol. 3
(Top Shelf Productions,
www.topshelfcomix.com. Daily strips at
www.americanelf.com)
If there's one way to describe the bulk of James Kochalka's work, it's sentimental and cute – which is exactly what some people hate about it. His
Sketchbook Diaries is a good example of that cuteness as it tends to feature his kitty cat, the author getting snuggly-wuggly with his True Love and other preciousness. Hell, these people are cute even when they're bitching at each other. And that's just part of the charm. It seems to be the sort of thing that people either love or hate. The cuteness gets to me at times – depending on my mood – but I'm a fan of both the author and autobio comics in general, so you know which side I fall on.
Kochalka's diary comics are inspiring, actually, in that they're generally snippets of everyday mundanity that the average reader may find endearing (or possibly clever or amusing) due to commonality. It's Everyman material (even if the Everyman in question appears to be a bit eccentric) and one might feel it's something
they could do. Thus, the sudden spate of diary comics (especially online) that followed the debut of the first volume in this series.
Besides all that, of course, they're just
fun.
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