TEOTFW cover by Charles Forsman.

TEOTFW cover by Charles Forsman.

TEOTFW is a story we’ve seen variations on before. A violent teenage boy, and a girl possessed by the love you can only feel in those years, strike out on their own and things happen. What sets TEOTFW apart is how these things happen.

Forsman isn’t a minor talent — this is a guy who knows what he’s doing and shows it on every page. You’ve probably read one or two stories like this and found yourself enjoying certain elements of it, skimming others; what TEOTFW does so well is that it gives you nothing worth skipping, and goes the extra mile to reward you for sticking with it. It’s a lean, brutal, uncompromising (in the best way) book.

Much is going to be said of Forsman’s style, and much should be said of Forsman’s style. In comics, Charles Schulz’ work is homaged and acknowledged frequently, but rarely is the Peanuts style appropriated for other uses. Forsman borrows a few apples from Schulz’ picnic basket and brings them back looking like they were eaten through by worms. It is incredibly effective. Take a moment to imagine how bad it could’ve been in the hands of a less-skilled cartoonist.

What will probably be overlooked is how well-written this is. The dialog is spare and near-perfect. You get a feel for every character’s intelligence level, personality, wants, desires, and fears (or lack thereof, in every category) with everything they say. What’s more, is that you get that with everything they do. To double back to an earlier point, there isn’t a single page wasted, and the same comes to the writing of the story; everything counts. Everything pays you back as you work toward the end. You’ll want to flip the book over and read it again the minute you get there.

You’ve probably read a debut comic, or something close to a debut, and thought to yourself: “We’re going to see a lot of amazing work from this person.” TEOTFW will give you the same feelings people got from the likes of Paul Pope, Alex Robinson, Chester Brown, Adrian Tomine, and maybe even Chris Ware. This is a coronation, this is an announcement, this is a kick in the head — Chuck Forsman is here. This is the end of the f—ing world.

 

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