MOTHER, COME HOME: I finally read this wrenching comic. It is really, really good. Paul Hornschemeier has the Mishima technique of zeroing in on a particular object, a particular small image, and using that tight focus to convey a deep sense of dissociation and loss. By the end, yes, as a few reviewers have noted (be sure to read the asterisked bits at the end of that second link), the comic becomes too top-heavy with tragedy. But I’ll definitely remember images from this work (the lion mask; the sandwich) long after most things I’ve read have faded. And the writing, while very occasionally veering over the top, is much, much better than most comics writing–too often people get hyperpoetic in “serious” comics writing, whereas Hornschemeier, because he’s trying so hard to convey alienation and dislocation, ends up with this doomy but generally not overdone cadence. He’s willing to let some things go unspoken. (Should’ve used that more often, though.) This comic is very much worth its cover price. If you want to know whether you should read it, stand in your local comics shop and read the introduction. I was captivated from the first page.