I Saw You… is a collection of comics inspired by real-life I Saw
You ads—you know, the kind we print in the back of this paper.
The kind that you’re sort of embarrassed to be reading in the first
place, and even more embarrassed upon confirming that once again, no
one’s seen you.
But one of this book’s consolations is that after reading it, you
may no longer want to locate yourself in an anonymous ad in the back of
a free newspaper. Take one “M4W” comic, illustrated by Emily Flake, in
which a man writes, “I was right behind your sexy ass and kept tapping
you on your ass. If you’re reading this and you think this may be you
respond with your pic(s) and info.”
Now really, is that the kind of company you want to keep?
Of course, not all of the comics here are creepy. Some are as
wistful and sad and emo as one would expect from a collection of indie
comics about missed connections. Each cartoon is “inspired by” an I Saw
You ad—some are literal representations of the ad’s text, where
some imagine more detail and backstory. The book was edited and
conceived by Julia Wertz, the Brooklyn-based cartoonist who creates
The Fart Party—she asked for submissions via her website,
and what ended up in the book is a nice cross section of minor indie
comic superstars (Peter Bagge, Jeffrey Brown) and relative unknowns.
Much of the work in the book is set in either Portland or New York
(guess which borough?), and the list of local contributors is
impressive: Sarah Oleksyk, Shannon Wheeler, Jesse Reclaw, Elijah
Brubaker, Indigo
Kelleigh, Aaron Mew, Aaron Renier, Aron Nels
Steinke, and probably a few more I’m missing. The elephants at the
Oregon Zoo make an appearance in one comic, as does this here
newspaper.
The work ranges wildly in style and quality, but it all runs the
dismayingly short gamut from hopefulness to desperation. Just like
reading the I Saw You’s in the paper, this book opens a voyeuristic
little window on private hopes—sweet and sad, horny and lonely,
and at times, uncomfortably familiar.