Comics / European Comics

MISTER O

By Hervé St-Louis
March 20, 2004 - 11:00

When I received this hardcover book, my first reaction was "what the heck?" A book about little scribbles. I must admit that it took me a while to open it and read it. I'm glad I dropped my prejudices. The saying's true. Don't judge a book by its cover. Mister O is a series of one page strips about a character trying to cross a cliff. Every page features the same goal, but with a twist.

Trondheim is an established cartoonist who has written several humour and oddball comics. Appropriately, one of them is called Oddzball. In Mister O every attempt by the character to cross the cliff is different, yet a number scheme and events colour each attempt. No two story is the same. Figuratively, the stories mock the trials and errors of people as they go through real life.

Trondheim's artwork is simple yet effective. Its purpose is not to give the reader outlandish visual. It's to tell a story with as little interference as possible. This is sequential art at its purest. The slow and steady pace of the strips would be perfect storyboards for a cartoon series. Trondeheim borrowed much from Wiley E. Coyote and Road Runner!

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12