{"id":3445,"date":"2009-05-13T06:00:28","date_gmt":"2009-05-13T06:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=3445"},"modified":"2009-05-12T22:07:51","modified_gmt":"2009-05-12T22:07:51","slug":"mother-come-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2009\/05\/13\/mother-come-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Mother, Come Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy Paul Hornschemeier<\/strong> (Fantagraphics Books)
\nISBN: 978-1-56097-973-9<\/p>\n

Back in print and in a magnificent deluxe hardback lending it even more gentle gravitas is Paul Hornschemeier’s dreamily magnetic exploration of grief and coping mechanisms. Mother, Come Home<\/strong> originally ran in the marvelous indie publication Forlorn Funnies<\/strong> before being gathered into a lyrically stunning collection in 2004. Now Fantagraphics have produced this beautiful edition of one of the best, most emotionally complex and graphically symbolic tales ever to grace our medium.<\/p>\n

Tom is a seven year old boy whose mother has just died. His father, a deeply intellectual college professor of symbolic logic, slowly retreats into a nervous collapse and young Tom assumes the household duties – as much as he is able – bolstered by his love and sense of duty, as well as the innate half-word of fantasy that is the rightful domain of the very young.<\/p>\n

Empowered by a dime-store lion-mask his mother bought him he becomes the head of his diminished clan and guardian of the home until his aunt and uncle discover how ill his father has become.<\/p>\n

When his father voluntarily commits himself to an institution, Tom goes to live with them, but dreams of reuniting with his real family, even planning a meticulous escape and joyous reunion. But when he takes action the consequences are painfully revelatory, inevitably tragic and hauntingly real…<\/p>\n

Rendered in a number of simple, powerful styles, with a mesmeric, muted colour palette binding ostensibly neutral images (that nevertheless burn with a highly charged intensity) with a simplified heavy line, this subtle, seductive, domestic tragedy is a perfect example of how our medium can so powerfully layer levels of meaning and abstract a personal reality until it becomes greater than itself.<\/p>\n

Deeply moving, monstrously deep and overwhelmingly simple, Mother, Come Home<\/strong> is a true classic and stands comfortably beside such noteworthy novels as Maus<\/strong>, Barefoot<\/strong> Gen<\/strong>, Stuck Rubber Baby<\/strong>, Pride of Baghdad<\/strong> or Persepolis. <\/strong> This is a comic nobody could ever be embarrassed about reading, but they should feel ashamed if they haven’t…<\/p>\n