Yearbooks by Nicholas Breutzman, Shaun Feltz, and Raighne Hogan

Publisher 2D Cloud is a Midwestern hub for experimental, edgy comic art. Nicholas Breutzman was a contributor to their most recent annual anthology title, Good Minnesotan. In Yearbooks, Breutzman (and co-author Shaun Feltz) has plenty of space to explore the uncomfortable angst of an outsider high school student with an interest in art. He's naturally drawn to the art teacher. At first their relationship is a source of strength and encouragement, but as the older man reveals himself, feelings of repulsion emerge.

The student is haunted by nightmares of a one-room schoolhouse that reflects the isolation and betrayal of his waking life.

Raighne Hogan's coloring complements the artwork beautifully, changing pallets to capture the mood of the scene. The harsh reality of the outsider's world is reflected by the bright, gaudy colors of his home and high school. The art teacher's sobering artwork is colorless and bleak. The story's climatic scene is dark, cold, and austere.

Yearbooks is an edgy, affecting story. It captures the discomfort and anguish of high school from the outsider's perspective and mixes in just enough grit to keep readers uneasy. Breutzman experiments with storytelling by shifting time and place unexpectedly, so readers have no idea what's coming next or where the story is taking them.

Yearbooks is 44 full color pages, including covers. 11" x 8", commercially printed, with perfect binding. It's available for $13 from the Poopsheet Shop. Check out the listing for sample pages and Nicholas Breutzman for more comics, illustration, and storyboards. Mature content.

R. Krauss reviews small press and mini comics on Midnight Fiction, Poopsheet Foundation and Comic Related.