Ash’s cabin
cartoonist: Wang Ren
Publisher: first second / $17.99
August 2024
Must go out. The only person Ash could relate to was their late grandfather, a key memory of Ash’s childhood summers, the stories other members of our family and community told us about our elders, and the fantasy of the records he left behind . The clue is Ash’s cabin There, in the past, if only Ash could understand what they meant. They must then follow the clues to find the actual cabin itself in the wilderness. Wang Ren The comic he creates is more than just a mystery, though. Helicopters, Pinky Promise, Straw, Wildfire. It seemed like the perfect place to escape, so that’s exactly what Ash (and Ash’s dog Chase) decided to do.
Ash’s cabin It’s really Ash’s diary, recalling the summer when they found the cabin. Ash is a planner, so this is a comic filled with lists, checklists, relevant facts, and details that border on teaching. Ash is focused and willing to put his plans into action no matter what life throws at him. So this is a comic full of hardships. His hands were bloody as he chopped firewood. Dinner was borage and fennel with rice. But the choice between making a fire and freezing, fishing or starving is simply not a choice. Since you can’t do this alone (without people please), the dog you’re bringing with you is definitely counting on you. Giving up is not an option.
However, Mr. Wang is willing to let things fall apart. Ash is motivated and does his best, but life is what it is, so this comic is about failure. It is our ambition to be part of the forest rather than part of society, but nature is bigger than you and me and sometimes does things that make planning or even success meaningless. When things don’t go well, desire becomes clear, don’t you think? It will hurt your heart to find out that what you want is not what you want. In Ash’s case, if the woods attack you, they’ll do more than just destroy your heart, they’ll stop it entirely.
The secret in the cabin is the power of small victories. As a storyteller, Wang’s Rhythm knows how to give people what they deserve. A silent panel tells the reader about Ash’s inner peace in a heavy tone. Wang connects it with the importance of everything; although the cabin does not end as expected, the time spent growing there is not lost. Ash succeeds by respecting the history that makes The Countryside what it is today. Ash’s struggle contributes to this history, even if we are the only ones to witness it.
The problem with Ash is that caring about humans makes you very angry at them. The trick is to find something you can do that involves isolation (see also Adam D’Souzaof bay). Treating people poorly because you specifically choose not to deal with their general bullshit when you ask for help in a crisis doesn’t exactly make a person a diplomat. Ash meets Ursula in Kiki, a reminder of the bumbling charm of scientists. Shang Zhangof Last chance to find Duke University.
Positive librarian interactions informed Ash’s research and gave him a better understanding of joining an ecosystem rather than camping within it. Ashe’s dissatisfaction with society stems from the climate crisis. The desire to be self-reliant and to reconnect with their family’s past are intertwined as good custodians of the land they live on. Part of Ash’s responsibility is to save the world, which means all the people they avoid must thrive.
The style Wang uses puts you inside Ash’s mind, which is why I could feel inner peace during the moments of silence. Only parts of this comic “look like comics.” Ash’s cabin It’s a diary. It is not a prose novel that records every moment, but the words that a teenager wrote for himself before it became too dark to see the pages that night. This text is a key that, when Ash revisits it, will unlock all their memories of it. This is the comedy we experience.
Some sequences are done with panels and word balloons, but for the most part, it’s not what you think when someone says comedy. This is a book with a lot of negative space – sometimes used dynamically, mainly because the diary narrative requires an open page that the text can traverse and the art answers with ghost panels. Wang rhythmically brings art and text together on the page, as if the panel borders were there when the page was built and were only taken out after everything else was put in. The arrangement of each page is intended to divert the eye away from what is being read, the diary, and towards the fact that it is a book.
I think the word book comes from the comic literacy that Wang created in multiple visual languages. Ash keeps track of everything they bring, preparing lists, blending effortlessly with Wang’s sudden turn to architectural schematics for building a shelter or setting a trap. I’ve long been a fan of others in the teen world trying this approach: Lucy Knisleyof children’s gloves (among other things) integrating infographics and comics, Dan Zetterworkof (s/o USS Disaster) contribution science comics series brings Stephen Bisti. Ash’s cabin Integrate these practices rather than demonstrate them.
Wang’s illustrations outside the panels are sometimes documentary, such as from a field guide or a forager’s diary, and sometimes capture moments that are meaningful to the story and elevate it. A passage from Ash’s diary will appear as a drawing, without being integrated into the typical passage of time through the panels. It’s more about getting somewhere inside and capturing it as it happens like a photo. When a moment captivates you and you want to follow it faster than the diarist can record it in real time, the story becomes a movie, or “becomes a comic.” You have to look faster than you read to see if the lightning actually hit and saved the dog.
Nonbinary Brontë. A heartbreaking coming of age story. That poor dog did go through it all. But what’s the connection? Ash’s cabin Mr. Wang’s ability to capture inner conflict fits well with the tradition of the bildungsroman that stretches back centuries. When your happiness doesn’t align with the way the world works. The resilience it takes to be yourself and how it changes when you go through it.
It is also a well-researched piece. Rooted in reality yet free enough to be a comic, like this year’s food school from Jed Armstrongor classic The story of a bad mouse go through Brian Talbot. one Herman Melville The level of attention to detail that comes with loving comics, e.g. Shirahama Seagullof witch hat studio or Aboriginal peopleof Let go of your hands Eizouken! The way it drops in and out of panel sequences assumes you’re already familiar with the comic and ready to learn more. Is this also influenced by josei? It is too late to reopen the review. The publisher is first second;If that’s what the kids are reading, they’ll be fine.
Ash’s cabin Available from First Second or wherever great comics and books are sold.
