THIS LOVE SO BRIEF by Fred Chao
The other night, I was part of a marketing workshop. It was a little disheartening since I got pegged as a dreamer who didn’t care about business plans but just followed his muse–in other words, the antithesis of a marketing person, as far as a marketing person is concerned. But I remain hopeful. I think reading this review might help these marketing people out quite a bit. I am speaking about writing authentically about authentic things, the very thing the marketing people claimed to value. The point is that this one-shot comic book, This Love So Brief, published by Action Lab Entertainment is just the sort of subversive and authentic stuff that really baffles marketing people but is welcomed by all of us discerning readers! Okay, now let’s take a look at this advance spoiler-free review.
It is very serendipitous that my own eyeballs should fall upon this particular comic book as it is a prime example of the alternative comics aesthetic that I gravitate to. This is a collection of personal stories by cartoonist Fred Chao. There are no superheroes flying around in capes. There’s no big cuddly cast of animal characters either. Those are marketing bonanzas, right? Bread and butter stuff. Money. Money. Money. Well, the creator of this comic book appreciates that. Frank Chao, after all, is known for his children’s book, Alison and her Rainy Day Robot and the comic strip, Alison and her Rock Awesome Robot. That sounds market-friendly–and nothing wrong with that. But he’s also known for Johnny Hiro (Half Asian, All Hero) and Johnny Hiro (The Skills to Pay the Bills) which attracts the art-loving crowd. Which brings us over to this new comic book which is an opportunity fulfilled to break free and say a few things from the heart.
The first thing you notice right away about Chao’s artwork is a lightness about it. The first thing you notice right away about Chao’s prose is a similar lightness, an openness, an honesty. These are a bunch of little stories, little observations, mostly about mad youthful falling in, and out of, love. Tied in with life’s loves, and their euphoria and drama, is an ever-evolving appreciation for the delicate balance that is life. A person can be nearly tone deaf to what it takes to create art but just about everyone can relate to how precious and vulnerable life itself really is. Bit by bit, moving past elementary school crushes, and sliding into the sweet melancholy of true wisdom, Chao shares a few tales that will both engage and delight readers. Every generation has its profound moments meeting the dawn after a rooftop party. Chao got his chance to write and draw his take on it in this charming comic book.
This Love So Brief is a one-shot comic book published by Action Lab Entertainment.
