There's something about John Porcellino's King-Cat comix that makes them different, that separates them from all the other autobiographical and slice-of-life comic I’ve read before. Although a genre I particularly enjoy, none of my previous readings can really compare with this, and they never managed to come across as genuine or emotional as John did in From Lone Mountain (collecting issues 62 to 68 of his long-running mini comic).
Maybe what makes them work is the format, the combination of cartoons and prose in a nice little package that focuses on a certain theme, be it his relationship with his father or his attachment to the places where he lived in search of one to call his own.
Or maybe it's the excessively honest way he communicates with the reader, how he's not afraid or embarrassed to tell you how things didn't turn out well or how he was in pain, how he laughed and cried and lived his live. There's something special about him being so open, trusting you with his life and stories, maybe that's it.
Maybe it’s how they revolve around what makes our (generally) inconsequential and cosmically insignificant existences worthwhile. It's the small moments; the anecdotes, the meeting people you'll never talk to or see again. It's the walking to places, enjoying the springtime warmth or the autumn breeze. It's the big moments; the firsts dates, the marriages and weddings, the deaths and funerals. But, above all, it’s about friendships and loved ones, no matter the moment, in sickness and in health.
In many ways, I found this comic to be kind of an antithesis to Chris Ware’s Building Stories. While they’re both comics about our mundane lives, Ware approaches the subject-matter in a nigh-objective fashion, never really making his presence felt. On the other hand, Porcellino’s is full of character, of personality, of him. And whereas Ware’s approach feels like an exposé on the inconsequentiality of the human existence, Porcellino’s is more about enjoying the time you have, all those moments, big and small.
Similarly, Porcellino’s art-style is simplistic to the extreme, kind of taking the concept of cartooning to its zenith. His art has an almost child-like aesthetic, with cars being little more than a couple of circles and houses having a door, two windows and some smoke curling out of the slightly off-center chimney. Conversely, the art in Building Stories is precise and borderline architectural, which also adds to that coolth, to the general feeling of abstraction and emotional distance, very much unlike the former’s more expressive style.
But From Lone Mountain is not just that, it’s also a comic about change and learning to deal with the alterations of our mundane status quo, be it a small one like a shop you knew from your childhood closing, or a larger one like moving from one state to another or coming to terms with the death of someone close to you. It’s a story about moving on and letting go, but most importantly, it’s about enjoying the journey.
Recommended listening
- Otis Redding
- Sam Cooke
- Elvis Presley
- Frank Sinatra
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