Comic books, webcomics, graphic novels, memoirs set in graphic novels, zines. The comic book is back, and Nobrow Press is right in the midst of the flurry. On June 23, Hyperallergic detailed Nobrow Press, highlighting the 17×23 series which includes Jen Lee’s Vacancy.
The 17×23 series is named for the 17 by 23-centimeter size of its volumes—a size that gives emerging writers like Lee the chance to work in a larger format, without going full volume. As with most of her work, Lee’s new book imagines animals sans the support of humans: “I love thinking about if critters would have a riot at us not existing anymore, or would some who depended on our luxuries be weeded out?”
And, the 17×23 series challenged Lee to create something more extensive, to grow her art: “The biggest challenge with Vacancy was that I had to get the complete story down first. . . .With my webcomic . . . I don’t know what’s going to be in the next update until I sit down and do my first thumbnails.” Thunderpaw is Lee’s delightful, moving webcomic, which set her up nicely for her work with Nobrow Press.