Seth’s back with a new “issue” of Palookaville even though they’ve stopped being single issue comics for some time now and have morphed into high-end glossy, pricier hardcovers over the years. Palookaville #24 has the fourth instalment of Nothing Lasts, a photo essay on a short film collaboration called The Apology of Albert Batch, a copy of the short film, and Selections From Sketchbook Thirteen, a series of short comics.
Seth is a great cartoonist with a unique style but Palookaville #24 wasn’t for me. Nothing Lasts Part 4 is hella boring. It’s a reminiscence from when Seth worked as a busboy at the Cove Inn (on the cover) as a teenager in the early ‘80s. He also worked for the Canadian Fisheries or something. Nothing interesting happens (which this new serial may as well be called) and that’s that.
The Apology of Albert Batch is a hand-made puppet show enacting a story Seth wrote, which was filmed by Luc Chamberland. The short film is included in this book as a DVD on the inside back cover, for anyone who still has a DVD player, or you could watch it on YouTube.
“Puppet” is a generous word to describe the hand-made things in the film. They’re crudely-made dolls that are stationary except for the hands which Seth jiggles about while telling his boring story of an old, fictional cartoonist from yesteryear. It’s worse than it sounds and I didn’t make it through the 24-minute short.
Selections From Sketchbook Thirteen are short stories based on random flower names. They’re instantly forgettable, pseudo-spooky tales - just filler basically.
Seth’s art is great. I love his view of the world as this moody, twilit place. He’s as fascinated with things more than people, as ever, with the stories featuring eerily empty streets, buildings, furniture, objects, and only very occasionally people.
Even as a Seth fan, there’s really not much to enjoy with Palookaville #24 - it’s visually compelling but the stories are immensely dull. You’re not missing out on anything if you decide to skip this instalment.
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