Jay's Days Vol. 2
Written and drawn by Jason Marcy
Published by Landwaster Books
If you don't want to know Jason Marcy, don't read this book. Because once you've read Jay's Days Vol. 2, you're going to know him, you're probably going to like him, and chances are you're going to want to give him more of your money.
In my review of the first volume in this series, I said "Jay's Days, Marcy's debut graphic novel, is a refreshingly blunt and honest expression from a creator who comes off as pretty much a regular guy who just really, really likes comics, and decides to do one of his own." The book left me anxious to see how Marcy would develop as a writer and artist, and I'm pleased to say Vol. 2 (scheduled to ship to comics shops this month) finds him exploring even deeper his relationships with his friends, co-workers and wife, and mining his own fears and neuroses for both humourous and dramatic purposes.
You get it all from Marcy: A light piece like "My Bald Head Explained," serves as an explanation for the various looks he's had throughout his mini-comics career, while "Bum Tales," sees him berating some down-on-their-luck people, prompting some self-examination about how he might not be that far from such a life himself, if circumstances were only slightly different.
My favourite Marcy stories always involve his girlfriend/wife Kris. The way he loves her and is in awe of her loving him back instills his character with a touching humanity, and often lends itself to humour. In "Everything But The Kitchen Sink" we see how Jay reacts when he fears Kris is seriously ill. There's some real stretching artistically in this story, as on the page where Jay lays on the floor as the camera moves in on him in synch with his growing paranoia over his wife's health. It's an impressive page made all the more dramatic by the bold ink lines of Joe Meyer, who shares inking dutues with others in this volume, but whose work brings out the most in Marcy's pencils.
As someone who has written about putting my own cat to sleep, I could certainly relate not only to the details in "Chelsea," but in the difficulty in sharing the emotions such an event brings up. Marcy's humanity is always in full display in these stories, but never more so than here, as he agonizes over having to kill his friend and companion.
Probably the funniest story here is the aptly-titled "A Pain in the Ass," which finds Jay enlisting his wife's help in determining for sure if he has a hemorrhoid. It takes a special kind of bravery to draw yourself scratching your anus and asking "What's with my ass?" in a word balloon, but Marcy pulls it off with humour and a nearly-disturbing bluntness. Poor Kris.
Marcy counts autobiographical comics guru Harvey Pekar as an influence, and that comes out in his character sketches of some of his friends and co-workers. Perhaps the best one of these involves a friend who felt the need to get rings in his nipples. Marcy observes humanity in all its absurdity, and comes back to report on his observations with an amused bluntness that is as refreshing as it is honest.
The story in the book most likely to stick with you after you close the cover is "Sept. 11th, 2001," which covers the terrorist attacks from Jay's point of view. We've all seen probably dozens of these stories at this point, but unlike tales collected in large trade paperbacks, this one comes amid other, more mundane and ordinary stories of Marcy's life, and as such put the attacks more in context, with more impact. Sorry, but it's hard to feel the same power in a story like this when you're on the 22nd one in a 200 page book. Here, Marcy's narrative properly assumes control of the reader's attention and the character's life, just as the monstrous events of 11 September did for us all. The story, fittingly, closes with Marcy taking comfort in the love of his wife but unable to stop pondering the meaning and implications of the attacks on New York and Washington.
Marcy is a developing talent, but an outstanding one with much potential. Somewhere down the line I fully expect him to mine deeper into his own ability for introspection and observation and deliver a major autobiographical novel. Jay's Days Vol. 2 finds him continuing along that path, and I hope he continues to work on his art. It's a fascinating journey he's on, and if you're a fan of autobiography in comics, one I recommend you take with him.