Little Nothings #3: Uneasy Happiness

European Comics
Little Nothings #3: Uneasy Happiness
By Philip Schweier
June 20, 2010 - 09:15

NBM Publishing
Writer(s): Lewis Trondheim
Penciller(s): Lewis Trondheim
Inker(s): Lewis Trondheim
ISBN: 978-1-56163-576-4
$14.99 US

Once again we have the opportunity to revisit Lewis Trondheim’s everyman character as he travels deals with mice and the cats who won’t deal with them, and travels through Rome and Fiji. It's like a visit from a welcome friend, as we've become familiar with his world, both as it is and how he perceives it.

Lewis never seems to have a shortage of things to write about, though it does seem as if he is revisiting earlier issues such as air travel and vacations. Nevertheless, he keeps them fresh and, in some instances, they are a continuation of earlier episodes, such as the two cats, Orly and Roisey, introduced in Little Nothings #1: The Curse of the Umbrella. I find this comfortable, creating a continuity of life without getting bogged down as many mainstream comic books often do

Trondheim’s art in this book seems to have grown more ambitious, as he treats the reader to illustrations of the sites of Barcelona, Rome and other travel sites. The drawings have the cartoonish detail of an animation background, but I find that perfectly acceptable. The characters of Little Nothings don’t inhabit the real world, so an effort at a more true-to-life illustration would only be out of place. Instead, the drawings fit in nicely.