Sometimes, the job of an artist is to illuminate the struggles of our times. To put their hand on our shoulder and say, “I know.” Great art can become a dialogue, when the reader (in the case of comics) can say it back to the artist. That’s a long-winded way of saying that Xeric award-winning artist Joshua Kemble’s Two Stories is great art.
Released mid-pandemic by Markosia Enterprises, the book contrasts two different eras of Kemble’s life. It’s Part 1, subtitled “Suicide, Panic & Christian School,” delivering as promised. It’s both powerful discussion of mental health and childhood memoir. In a realistic art style, adult Joshua talks about how close he came to suicide while living in Portland, and how he got to that point. His wife struggles with debilitating panic attacks, amplifying Kemble’s own depression.
Counterpoint — in a more cartoonish style, elementary school Joshua tries to fit in on the playground. He creates projects that others might join in, turning artistic obsessions into (temporary) ways to be part of a group. We’re following along in the birth of the artist, and though the story has melancholy turns, we know eventually it has to have gotten better. For a while.
It’s honest autobiography in the vein of Harvey Pekar’s American Splendor, but the stories here are more than just slices of life. They’re raw, they’re often painful, and they’re not yet finished. This is Book 1, leaving off at a point in young Joshua’s life where you think you know where it’s going, especially complementing adult Joshua’s story. But in reading up on his blog, it’s safe to say I was wrong. And I want to discuss where it’s going further, but I have to wait for Book 2.
Admittedly, it’s not an easy fast read. I had to take a chapter at a time and stop because I felt the resonance. These are difficult times, and though these two stories are set in the past, they speak loudly about what many of us are going through today.
[amazon text=Start Two Stories&asin=1913802205]. You might just find that Joshua Kemble knows.
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