A Japanese businessman leaves work for the day and on his way home encounters a series of bizarre people and situations, and goes on a comical life-changing journey beyond the boundaries of reality.
Jose Domingo’s comic is completely silent (no words), told in a four panel grid on oversized paper. It’s an interestingly presented book with the perspective in each panel slightly slanted and coupled with the cartoonish way Domingo draws the figures, makes it look like I’m reading an early 90s SNES game – not a bad thing in itself.
But as well drawn as it is, it gets a bit tedious to “read” after a while. There’s no real story - the Japanese businessman continues on his way no matter what crazy thing happens until the end. Some sequences are clever like when he dies halfway through, leading to Domingo appearing in the comic, pleading with Satan to bring his character back as he foolishly killed him off too early, which the Devil does (apparently all cartoonists work in hell!). Plus I don’t think I’ve ever read a book where the main character becomes chewing gum by the end.
I really wanted to like this as these kind of quirky, indie comics are right up my alley but I kept putting this one down as it just didn’t hold my attention for long. Imaginative and dream-like in approach but without any real narrative to involve the reader, Adventures of a Japanese Business Man somehow makes the surreal and zany boring to read.
Adventures of a Japanese Business Man
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