The Li'l Depressed Boy #1

Written by S. Steven Struble
Art by Sina Grace

Image has got to be the most diverse comics publisher around these days.  They put out work of such variety, and I'm always interested in seeing what new titles they give a chance to.

The Li'l Depressed Boy is drawn by the person who is now writing letter columns in Walking Dead and Invincible.  That was the extent of name recognition I walked into this comic with, but it had enough of a Forgetless meets Scott Pilgrim meets Pope Hats vibe that I figured it was worth checking it out.

The Li'l Depresed Boy is about a young man (not really a boy, but it's hard to tell - it seems he lives alone, and his friends seem to be in their 20s) who I took to be a cross between the figure in Munch's painting The Scream and Caspar the Friendly Ghost, but who the text in the back of the comic calls a ragdoll (whatever), and his quiet, sad search for friendship and love.

Not a whole lot happens in the comic - LDB goes out for a bit, meets a girl, does laundry, meets the girl again, and then goes to a concert with her.  I didn't get the feeling that he was particularly depressed, so much as a little lonesome, and that seemed to end when he met the girl.  I'm sure there's more going on here though - we just have to wait and see what happens next.

The story moves at its own pace, but the art became the thing that kept me interested throughout.  Grace's art reminds me of Marley Zarcone, and a bit of Vasilis Lolos (where is that guy, anyway).  This comic has a certain charm to it, and I will be picking up the next issue.