I tend to read tons of superhero comics, with a smattering of independant comics from time to time. I’ve become a big fan of Andi Watson recently — his deceptively simple art style provides some relief to my eyes when they’ve been saturated with too much “tights and fights” from mainstream comic books. I’ve only read Dumped, The Complete Geisha, and Breakfast after Noon so far, so it is nice to be able to look forward to reading some of his other work when I have more cash.

The Complete Geisha addresses the question can a android create art? As the main character Jomi struggles with her art while working for her adopted family’s bodyguard business, she runs into forgers, stalkers, goons, stuck-up supermodels, mecha, and overbearing older brothers.

One of the best graphic novels I’ve read recently is Breakfast after Noon, I feel a little cheesy saying something like, “It has the best depiction of depression in comics I’ve ever read” but it does! It details the struggles in a couple’s relationship after they are fired from their jobs working in a British pottery factory. Rob grows more and more depressed, and the detail that hooked me while reading the story is the slow build up of empty food packets and dirty dishes in his apartment over time. Backgrounds in comics tend to be more like backdrops — window dressing for mutants being superheroes, so it is nice to be able to read a comic that shows a character really living in an apartment, and see how his space changes to reflect his moods.

I’ve probably linked to the Oni Press Free Comics page before, but if you scroll WAY down, you can download the first couple parts of Geisha.