Title: Almost Silent
Publisher: Fantagraphics
Writer: Jason
Artist: Jason
Rating: 
Review by: Bill Jones
Jason’s work is arguably some of the most masterful in the comics medium. He has a spectacular knack for visual storytelling, using the medium to its fullest, and words to their fewest. With a simplified style highlighted by anthropomorphic animals, a subtle sense of expression and the perfect dose of humor, his digestible stories are near-perfect reads. But at lengths that are more comics novellas and less graphic novels, the paperbacks can get a bit pricey at $9 to $17 a pop. But Fantagraphics stumbled upon a great idea last year in publishing Jason’s serialized “Low Moon” strip in a hardcover edition, filling it out with other short works from the author. The publisher has employed the same mentality with Almost Silent, giving readers their first shot at the collected material of Meow, Baby!, Jason’s short stories and gag strips, for the first time in years. This time, instead of filling it out with previously unpublished material, Fantagraphics compiles the previously released Tell Me Something, You Can’t Get There From Here, and The Living and the Dead, the former two of which are also out of print.
Pros: Four great books, three out of print, under one hardcover for $24.99. Matches up with Low Moon, aesthetically. Solid collection of Jason’s stories. Great for those catching up on Jason to do so at a lower cost.
Cons: For those needing only one or two to fill out the collection, it’s a shame this is the only way the out-of-print comics are currently available from Fantagraphics.
For more info, www.fantagraphics.com
Pads & Panels received a copy of the book courtesy of the publisher for review purposes.
August 25th, 2010 at 8:07 pm
I wasn’t familiar with Jason’s work prior to this. I think it’s worth mentioning that Fantagraphics offers .PDF previews of most of their titles. I just checked and there is a 27 page preview of “Almost Silent”. Worth checking out and deciding if it’s to your liking.
August 26th, 2010 at 11:45 am
I’m not familiar with Jason’s work, but your review has definitely grabbed my attention.