i first read jar of fools serialized in a paper i volunteered for in providence, rhode island. one of my co-volunteers claimed to be friends with mr. lutes, and with ben katchor, and with other artists i admire. he may very well have been, because i don't know many other papers this was printed in, and the nice paper (r.i.p.) was quite small, to say the least. i crossed my fingers, waiting for the next installment to arrive on time and in good condition. it always did, except for scheduled vacations.

then the strips stopped coming, the paper folded, i sadly went on with my life without closure.

then i saw at APE, almost a decade later, that the story was finished and compiled into a book that was actually for sale. and there was jason lutes, wearing a fetching hat, just sitting behind the table. i shyly avoided any and all contact as i picked up his book and paid someone else for it. the first collection of berlin had just come out, so he was busy signing copies for a group of admirers and curious onlookers. then, as i was about to move away, he looked up at me with a curious look on his face. i must have looked enraptured, excited beyond what would appear to be sensible levels. he gave me a strange, confused look. i beamed and faltered and ran away.

there's something about this story that gets to me, that makes me so glad and relieved to have found it again. some of it is the nostalgia of the time i first read those installments. some of it is the way i read them, with an impatient wait in between, with always the promise of more. but most of it is the way it just gets to me. i can't really put it into clearer words. ( )

Full of ghosts--the principal characters each carry one, w Harry Houdini haunting the whole enterprise. Lute's lines are as always excellent. The story hopes to be Hemingway but doesn't get there. ( )

A sad little graphic novel about a magician out on his luck. He lost his brother in a failed escapist trick or possible suicide. His girlfriend left him, his former teacher is becoming senile. When he encounters a scam artist and his little daughter and everything gets better and worse.

Just beautiful and heartbreaking. The story of a man at loose ends, a man and his daughter drifting, an old magician escaping from the end of his life, a woman who desperately needs to start over, and how they come together. ( )

Clássico dos anos 90, do mesmo autor de BERLIN.