
Any way you slice it, Philadelphia cartoonist Nate Garcia’s Alanzo Sneak is an impressive package — richly drawn, published in an oversized magazine format by your friends and mine at Strangers fanzine (who, it has to be said, are absolutely killing it since venturing into the world of comics publishing), and thoroughly conceptualized, this is a comic that fires on all cylinders and bears all the hallmarks of autuer work, with production values to match the quality of its visual storytelling. From the minute you see those “Ben Day Dot”-style cover colors accentuating the absolutely wild sense of proportion Garcia brings to his titular protagonist, you know you’re in for a wild ride that engages both eyes and mind. I honestly have to ask myself : how can this guy only be nineteen years old?
Maybe he’s just a quick study, or maybe he’s some kind of prodigy, but whatever the case may be, if Garcia is well and truly just getting started, then we’ve got a lot to look forward to. His self-published solo anthology Hornrim — where the character of Alanzo Sneak debuted — showed hints of an emerging talent finding his way forward on his own terms entirely, but now that he’s zeroed in on one idea and made a “proper” full-length story out of it, his confidence in his craft is really hitting its stride.

And honestly, what’s not to love? Garcia brings the goods in every panel, and there’s no slack in his act. He matches the sensibilities of classical satirical “cartoony” art with a distinctly modern flair for an entirely unforced timeless look that’s reflected in his comic’s subject matter — sure, it takes place out west, but how “old” this west is remains a very open question. The trappings of modernity are right there at the margins, sometimes even front and center, but at the same time the dialogue and overall tone of the proceedings is straight out of the late 1800s — except they didn’t even have such things as sneakers back then, did they?


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Alanzo Sneak is available for $10.00 front the Strangers fanzine website at https://strangersfanzine.bigcartel.com/product/alanzo-sneak-by-nate-garcia-strangers-presents

Reblogged this on Through the Shattered Lens.
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As wild a ride as you’re gonna find, pardner.
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Thank you for linking to my reviews!
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