Paper Biscuit: Half Life

    (Ronnie del Carmen, 2003)
™ and © Ronnie del Carmen

Del Carmen’s asking a lot of his potential supporters. It’s bad enough that he wants an ultra-steep $10 for a 40-page, travel-size comic book, but those who submit will find that the main story uses little more than half the pages; the rest comprise filler concept sketches. Ouch. It seems a little audacious for a struggling small-press guy.

But put the price and the filler aside, and in absolute terms the story that remains is a good one, indeed. Del Carmen tells the story of a struggling young woman who frequently escapes reality by succumbing to her own dream world, a world that subconsciously but ultimately guides her. His character speaks to all of us who at one time or another have sought the blissful oblivion of sleep in lieu of facing a bad day, and the story is done with an understated touch of both brilliance and inspiration.

But that price. Well, think of it like this: Maybe an expensive house or car or Golden Age comic book is out of reach. But an expensive independent comic book is not. $20 will buy a nicely executed comic book, a Starbuck’s coffee, and maybe cabfare. Go for it.

— Jim Johnson
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