Pocket Full of Rain and Other Stories [Paperback]

Jason (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2, 2008

An anthology of masterful shorts from the creator of I Killed Adolf Hitler.

This multifaceted anthology—our 12th Jason graphic novel—wraps up Fantagraphics' near-complete collection of Jason's oeuvre (minus just a few pieces of juvenilia) by printing selections from Jason's early-1990s work, including his remarkable calling card, the novella-length thriller Pocket Full of Rain, which has never before been published in English.

Like a number of his initial stories, Pocket is actually drawn with realistic human beings instead of blank-faced animal characters—a true revelation for Jason fans. In fact, this book showcases three distinct styles: his earliest "realistic" drawing style (used to unsettling effect in some particularly creepy stories), an intermediate "bighead" cartoony style that still features humans (used for both humor and drama), and the "funny-animal" style he's now best known for.

Readers who like Jason's anthropomorphic style won't be disappointed, though, as the book includes a number of tales done in that fashion, featuring (among other things) Death, a guy waiting for a bus, and croquet-playing nuns; over 40 "daily strip" format gags; a trio of hilarious parodies of other pop media work including Corto Mjautese and an elaborate riff on Basil Wolverton's Spacehawk done Jason style; and much more.

Also included are a color section featuring Jason's painted covers for his original Norwegian magazine Mjau Mjau, color strips and illustrations, and more. Plus—God cheating at Trivial Pursuit.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Not quite sui generis, Woodring’s speechless stories about anthropomorphic rodent-feline Frank, his often antagonistic acquaintances Manhog (a humanoid pig) and Whim (a stick man with a crescent-moon head), and Pupshaw, his cat-valise pet resemble early-1930s animated cartoons and the psychedelic ’60s comics of Rick Griffin and Victor Moscoso. As far as plots go, the Frank stories have slightly less than the old cartoons did and rather more than Griffin and Moscoso ever provided. Each story portrays a journey of some kind, fraught with surprises, discoveries, perils, transformations, and reconciliations. They occur in a vast and varied landscape dotted with onion-dome houses, in dreams, and on the other side of the sky. Flying creatures resembling tops, spindles, Christmas-tree ornaments (these seem to be fruit), and rays figure prominently in many stories. In general, things are back to status quo ante for Frank at each story’s end. Woodring is so accomplished an artist, and his narrative imagination, while abstract and whimsical, is so steady-going that his not fully explicable stories are as enchanting as dreams you want to have. --Ray Olson

Review

In the Norwegian cartoonist’s resplendent minimalism, there are no throw away panels, no sloppy emotion, no failed experiments, and none of the self-indulgent missteps that are in full bloom. (Steve Duin - The Oregonian )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Fantagraphics Books (July 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560979348
• ISBN-13: 978-1560979340
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,364,900 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Pocket full of fun, January 1, 2011

By 

Sam Quixote - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pocket Full of Rain and Other Stories (Paperback)

One of the most interesting and original comics artists/writers of the last 10 years to emerge is the Scandinavian cartoonist Jason with his surreal, funny, and touching stories featuring strange animal-headed characters. But how does someone like this come to be? Well, "Pocket Full of Rain" is the pre-Jason, the book that features a number of early strips from the '90s where the artist would hone his craft and become the storyteller he is today.

It's odd to see human characters in Jason's books but the title story has just that. A police sketch artist starts a relationship with a girl only to find she has a jealous ex who happens to be a hitman. When they rip him off, they go on the run but he's hot on his trail. As is another mysterious character... Jason's excellent storytelling instincts are present in this piece and are instantly recognisable from other later works like "Tell Me Something", even if the artwork here is different. There are the surreal elements here that would go on to play a big part in later works. Bank robbing aliens, picnics on the moon, helpful ostriches, homeless zombies, hat rains, and a werewolf. This is the length of his regular 48 page books and just as good. Oftentimes seeing the human characters rather than animal ones, it feels like you're watching a David Lynch or David Cronenberg film. It's easily the best part of the book.

There are early strips of the animal characters doing everyday things - stories about Jason's alcoholic landlord in France, going to the movies, drinking in cafes, nuns playing polo in a deserted street. One of the most interesting is a 3 page strip called "Kill the Cat!" which features a man with a suitcase walking down the street being accosted by a crazy homeless man yelling at him "Kill the Cat!". I won't ruin the ending but it's a brilliant strip. Jason also tries horror in "Glass" where a lodger tricks a young boy into his room.

There's a series of newspaper strips featuring a little prisoner who gets into odd scrapes in a twilit world of ghosts and talking cactuses. They're very funny and reminded me of the work in "Meow, Baby!".

All of these strips are in black and white but there's a colour section at the back with all of Jason's painted covers from his Scandinavian comics publication "Mjau Mjau"that're excellent and round off a superb book.

If you're a fan of Jason's you'll want to have this book as it shows off an incredible talent in his early years, but even then producing some brilliant works. For any comics fan or would be comics artist this is a fascinating collection of how someone finds their artistic voice and develops it. But for me, I just really enjoyed reading it. Jason is, as always, an amazing storyteller and "Pocket Full of Rain and Other Stories" is no exception. Fantastic read, highly recommended.