On sale date: September 6, 2015
This anthology of off-kilter, anthropomorphic short comics by Jason feature Frida Kahlo as a contract killer, and much more.
Jason's latest collection of full color comics indulges in his light and playful side, consisting of eleven wildly off-kilter stories that mix incongruous elements of pop culture and a variety of genres, pastiches and mash-ups in a delightful soupcon of graphic storytelling. Frida Kahlo is a hired killer. Santo, the Mexican wrestling film star, faces his ultimate challenge. The rise and fall of Chet Baker—told in six pages. Night of the Vampire Hunter. The last word on the JFK assassination conspiracies. A non-linear heist story that also somehow includes images by Magritte. A big bug story based on 1950s black-and-white films. And what would Van Morrison's Moondance album look like if it was a horror comic? All as foretold by Nostradamus, of course. And all told by Jason, whose sly and elusive meanings are hidden beneath a beguilingly deadpan style.
Praise
"Jason is one of the most interesting artists to ever work in this medium… [and] this is a must-have for fans of smart comics." — Rich Barrett - Mental Floss
"If You Steal employs a combination of amusement and ennui that's textbook Jason, and seems to come straight from French New Wave films. [Rating: 9.0 out of 10]" — Hillary Brown - Paste
"Norwegian cartoonist Jason is the master of haunting comics that wriggle into the reader's brain and very often break their heart. ... Jason's entire oeuvre... is essential reading for any fan of comics, art, pulp fiction, or silent/near-wordless narratives. ... If You Steal is no exception." — Laura Sneddon - Publishers Weekly
"With his simplified art style and wry sense of humor, Norwegian cartoonist Jason has crafted some immensely entertaining stories featuring anthropomorphized animal characters. ...[If You Steal] show[s] his versatility as a storyteller." — Oliver Sava - The A.V. Club
" ...[T]he ease with which Jason paces his pages—sometimes cross-cutting between the future and the past, reality and surreality—without once infringing on the fluidity and clarity of his storytelling demonstrates the potential of his disarmingly simple aesthetic and is exemplar of how finely he's honed it. This stoic, stilted style has the same power as a Wes Anderson tracking shot ... Jason binds this diverse bundle of stories together like a musician would an album. While they don't all have the same intonation or emotional resonance, they play well off each other, complementing and contrasting. Unlike other short story collections, If You Steal never feels like anything but a complete work... " — Shea Hennum - The A.V. Club
Specs
- Pages
- 208
- Format
- Hardback
- Color
- Full-color
- Dimensions
- 6.6" × 8.8"
- ISBN-13
- 9781606998540