Cheers!

but I really need to mention how fascinating Zoe (and Maryanne) are as parts of Sera’s tale. we’ve got a young, semi-anti-social witch who’s lost her parents and is living with her *caring, well-intentioned, respectful, and all-around good* stepmom and her *really sweet and darned cute* stepsister. i just love to see things standing on their heads like that.

…and the friendly, easy-going, and mildly cynical (just enough to be sympathetic) local law representative is a nice touch on those lines too. I’m actually kinda surprised Zoe called her “the sherriff” instead of “Lois” (or at least “Sherriff Lois”).

…speaking of whom, here’s hoping the news she brings isn’t *too* disastrous…!

But of course Mr A’s art is meant to be appreciated repeatedly, in depth. Savored. Fawned over. Seriously, there’s a lot here. That guy getting stabbed in the eye, for instance, or Zoe’s expression in the third panel, or how the headphone cord is tied up with the motion line is tied up with the sound effect in the second panel…. (I love the second panel.) This art never gets boring. I can reread volume 1 (for about the fifteenth time), or the two-page FCBD short that was my first encounter with Mr A and Ms Rose, and be captivated all over again by the vividness of the expressions, the beauty of the line, and the breathtaking effect of all that meticulous shading. Volume 2 is just the same, if anything more so.

I second joseph’s comment, really a lot. I consider it nothing less than a privilege to read your stuff, Mr A.

(and on that note of “sleep-deprived” and “fawning over”…..)