From Reverse Flaneur Credit: M. Sabine Rear

From Reverse Flaneur

From Reverse Flaneur M. Sabine Rear

I want to read something short. Do you ever feel that way? You’re browsing at the comic book store and every good book is a three-pound magnum opus, promising to break you open and rebuild you like boot camp. But what if it’s Sunday and I’m not willing to undergo ego death?

Short-form novella comics are my favorite. Like cassettes or seven-inch records, their brevity is part of their appeal. I can read a comic novella in an afternoon, kick the feeling around in my brain while I’m doing laundry, and fall asleep at a normal time. They never get any attention, though. That always goes to the big books. So since comic novellas are, for many, unknown pleasures, I have compiled some recent ones that, while they read quickly, lingered on in my mind.

Suzette Smith is the arts & culture editor of the Portland Mercury. Go ahead and tell her about all your food, art, and culture gripes: suzette@portlandmercury.com. Follow her on Twitter, Bluesky,...