A joke book and a novel of manners. From jazz drummer and fine-art painter Wim Janssen’s cartoon universe, we can glimpse in the distance awed Kuijfje and dyspeptic Sjef van Oekel, James Thurber’s dejected spouses, and various comic-strip workplaces. We eavesdrop on slivers of conversation, scraps that reveal all or nothing save Janssen’s keen ear for overheard speech. There are strange/grumpy encounters in postcard low country: in the dunes, along a dike, on bike paths through town or.country. We check in with an obscure Italian pop star, get advice from several computer experts and a visit from the jazz police, do some time-traveling, and experience the terror of discovering the friendly dinner your boss invited you to is a working meal, with you stuck taking notes. And in this jumble of multi-panel stories and single-image gags, we are not always confident who/what is and isn’t connected.
–Kevin Whitehead
