“Emitown” re-energizes an indie comics trope

The autobiographical comic is nothing new in the world of independent comics. Most recently, Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis captured critical acclaim and was turned into a film. Before that, Justin Green pioneered the form in the 1970s, and Harvey Pekar began his acclaimed series American Splendor (also turned into a film). Almost forty years later, how does one set their series apart? Emi Lenox’s Emitown is a good example of how to do just that.Emitown is an almost-daily webcomic found at emitown.blogspot.com. A typical post is one drawn page with an irregular layout. Lenox’s decision to publish online was obviously not based off of a desire to overuse digital art. Her penciled and inked pages pop with a real sense of style. (more…)