A review by crowyhead
Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer: The Beauty Supply District by Ben Katchor

4.0

A series of one-page vignettes, some starring Julius Knipl, that take place in a city kind of like NYC, but more surreal. They're apparently set in the modern day, but everyone has a sort of 1950s look to them; the men tend to wear suits and hats, the women all wear dresses and heels. People buy perfume that smells like mundane things. They make maps of mud puddles. They go to bizarre concerts where music is made by a fake tongue lapping at cream. The stories are odd, whimsical, sometimes funny and sometimes oddly touching. Sometimes I found the briefness of each vignette to be a little taxing; I wanted to find out more, I wanted it to expand into a story, but most of them are sort of one-shot deals. The section titled "The Beauty Supply District" tells a story, but it's an odd one, with a lot of intertwined elements. This is a very strange comic collection, and I'm glad I read it, but I need to mull it over more, I think.