The Chronicles of Lucky Ello

(Drawn and Quarterly, 2004)
™ and © 2004 Peter Thompson

Guessing that Peter Thompson’s series of one–page, trippy cartoons may have been produced under some sort of chemical enhancement would be a bit disrespectful if the writer/artist himself hadn’t written “drunk” and “stoned” on a number of pages. The psychedelic results (or “psychedoolic” as the author himself writes) cohere into what’s probably best described as portraiture, each one making a statement about the nozzle–nosed elephant Lucky Ello. The drawings then visually qualify that statement, though it seems more likely that Thompson is first free–drawing, then writing those descriptions. Each piece consists of a main picture, and letting his pen run stream–of–consciousness style from image to image, tied by symbolic or representative lines as well as physical ones. Pipes dominate, as do bizarre noses and skulls, all frequently growing into something else, be it another person or Lucky Ello himself.

— Brendan McGinley

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#1

November, 2004
Cover Price: $9.95
1 copy available for $19.99

Peter Thompson