Mom's Cancer by Brian Fies

Several months ago I commented briefly on this book before I had read it. Those comments still stand, and I think they bear repeating here:

"Artist/writer Brian Fies presents a perfect opportunity to talk about the misnomer webcomic. In my experience, the strips and stories that are given this designation are simply comic strips or stories in the comic format. They don't need the designation webcomic anymore than the rest of the comics need the designation paper comic. I'm sure there are creations out there that fit the bill of webcomic, but I'm not familiar with them. Achewood and Penny Arcade are comic strips. This comic is a comic."

And just for clarification, a graphic novel is also a comic, it is only slightly more useful in its use as a name for a comic of somewhat substantial length, or of a complete story.

Enough semantics, though, and onto the comic at hand.

I had heard of this story when it was appearing only on the web, but never went out of my way to read it. When the hardcover version came out, I saw it in a bookstore, and it looked attractive and interesting enough to order a copy from one of my local retailers.

It seems to me that this book would be easy to connect with for anyone who has lost a loved one to cancer, or even another debilitating disease. It is a natural part of the coping process to seek out others who have similar experiences. I know that for me I made a natural connection between the author's story and my own, having seen my relatively young grandmother go through many similar situations. For the purpose of this review, the point of all this is that it is nearly impossible not to be sentimental, and sentimentality can cripple a story intended for those who do not have that innate connection to the situations that the characters (people) go through.

The story does a solid job of allowing sentimentality - the author is writing about his mom's cancer, as you may have guessed - without allowing it to take over. There are moments in the book that play a bit "Lifetime Movie of the Week" such as when Mom receives a puppy. Her reaction, while it may very well be true and factual reporting, comes across like sap. Thankfully the biography/autobiography method allows these moments, that are few and far between, to read like sentiment, but honest sentiment rather than cloying.

The art is attractive and clean, and it forces you to remember that there are many artists working in fields other than comics who can produce comics better than some of those who illustrate the top titles. According to his website, we have not seen his comics before this. For someone who, in terms of the comics world, came out of nowhere, the illustration and storytelling is impressive. He was clearly a fan of comics, from reading his background, but to produce something whole cloth that reads so well is surely the sign of a major talent.

The story is primarily black and white, with color used sparingly and to great effect. Fies will spot color or full color panels to elaborate on the emotions or experiences. For example, one panel finds Mom in the center, in full color, surrouned by friends and family. The color illuminates the narrator's dialogue: "Admirers orbit in her glow." There are flashbacks tinted in yellow, and a fantasy sequence and a prologue in full color. I assume that these examples are probably not so rare in the world of "webcomics" because the printing budget doesn't change for a panel produced in color. Here, they are used in service of the story, probably in spite of the extra cost to the publisher.

All in all, a wondeful debut from an artist that I look forward to seeing more comics from in the future.