Ojo

(Oni, 2004-2005)
™ and © 2004 Sam Kieth

Annie is a cute, curious, and conscientious little girl who loves three things in life: spending time with Grandpa, taking Polaroid photos, and looking after creatures. Unfortunately, she’s not particularly good at the last of these, meaning the life expectancy of a given animal decreases exponentially when under her care. Annie mourns the passing of her mother and, compounding matters, she has a mean sister. Grandpa acts as the girls’ long-suffering mediator, and it’s obvious he loves them both and strives to be fair.

Given the basic plot points, Ojo could well be a standard tale of childhood angst. However, since it springs from the unusually weird pen of Sam Kieth, the story exists in a dream–like state of backwoods loneliness (despite close proximity to the city), poverty (despite the talents of the grandfather) and, ultimately, supernatural underpinnings.

Kieth’s art (looking good in black-and-white) is less disciplined than it is on DC’s Scratch, but it’s more experimental, especially in terms of panel layout.

Undoubtedly, hardcore Kieth fans will enjoy Ojo.

— Brett Weiss

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