Twitter is often flooded with silly, argumentative, banal, or gossipy froth – at least in my feed anyway.  But I also have the pleasure and privilege of connecting with some cool and talented people posting about topics and ideas that interest me.  Somehow I’ve managed to connect with some incredible independent comics writers, artists, and publishers who point me to some great content and even share some of their own work in progress.  My sixteenth book of the year comes from one such talented person – Chris Callahan – who is working on a comic book entitled The Misplaced.  You can see a few pages here but Chris gave me the opportunity to read the whole thing and I had to share some thoughts about it.

The art in this story is amazing; it feels painted on the page and lush with golds, browns, sepias, mauves, umbers, and similar earthy tones – an interesting palate for a story set largely in ‘heaven.’  Chris did all aspects of this book, including the lettering which utilizes several different fonts depending upon what element of the story is unfolding.  The story itself concerns James, a dead man in what seems to be heaven yearning to connect with the spirit of his dead wife Anna.  The title may refer to her, as her soul has been “misplaced” or lost somewhere that is neither heaven nor hell and where the angels claim (at least) they cannot find her; or perhaps James is “misplaced” – placed in a heaven he cannot enjoy without the companionship of his wife.  He is willing to do anything to find her, including leaving the paradise that gives him only hollow comforts.  He finds a potential ally (who may be after more than we know) who agrees to help James for a price.  But will James’s trust in this being prove to be “misplaced” as well?

Chris paints a rich and vivid tapestry in this first story, haunting in its depiction of the loneliness and monotony of an eternity spent apart from one’s love.  I will await the next installment of this tale and I encourage you to check it out as well.