Sublife

    (Fantagraphics, 2008)
© 2008 John Pham

(from the publisher)

Two white supremacist brothers live in the midst of an “ethnic” urban flood along with a dog they’ve trained as a weapon. A household made up of three renters, a landlord who never leaves her attic bedroom, and her son, who insists on wearing a sheet over his head all the time. A pack of ravenous stray dogs chase a cat down a desolate alleyway. The lonely, grimy silhouette of Los Angeles, ever-present. All these separate threads weave through the first part of 221 Sycamore St., an ongoing story about the desperate need for family in two distinct households that share an indelible yet mysterious connection.

Sublife is the engaging new series from emerging talent John Pham (Epoxy, MOME). Similar in format to other great one-man anthology comics before it (Eightball, Acme Novelty Library, Jim), Sublife presents a variety of stories told in a range of styles and voices, all demonstrating a singular vision. Issue one features the first self-contained chapter of 221 Sycamore St. as well as St. Ambrose, a fractured memoir of the author’s grade school alma mater.John Pham won the Xeric Grant in 2000 and has been featured in publications such as Giant Robot, The Face, MOME and The Comics Journal.
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