Veggie Dog Saturn - Buyer Beware Comics

Jason Young, marching to the beat of a different drummer.

Its taken me a couple of issues to warm up to Jason Young's homespun existential ruminations, but with issue four of, Veggie Dog Saturn, I've finally started to cozy up to his style of story telling and I'm starting to become a fan. I don't normally read existential comics. Especially those by younger writers who tend to feel that every lesson has to be a hard one exposing yet one more of life's darker lies. Oftentimes it seems as if every existential writer today is a disciple of the Goth school of disillusionment where each and every day is viewed as little more than one more agonizing step along the slow and tortuous path towards the inevitable darkness of death. Frankly it gets a little tedious.

Jason Young is a refreshing young existential writer simply because he sees the inconsistencies of life as a series of practical jokes in a divine comedy. The most important lesson Jason appears to be learning from life is to see the wonderful humor of it all, even when that humor is dark. There is a genuine warmth to his work and the life lessons he offers avoid falling prey to the trap of appearing pedantic or preachy. Jason shares with us instead of presuming to teach us. (His is an old soul's voice in a young man's story.)

I think Jason Young really hits his stride in issue four of, Veggie Dog Saturn. For the first time he presents us with a series of vignettes around a central theme instead of attempting to fill a book with a single story. There are a total of six vignettes in this little gem of a book, each of which is like a facet of a jewel reflecting a color of light different than the one before it. Like a jeweler cutting a larger stone into smaller carats Jason strikes with swift sharp blows bringing the deeper beauty of a moment into the full light of realization. You will laugh, cry, nod your head in agreement and in the end you'll have learned a little something about the humanity inside us all. That's a lot more than you'll get from a lot books on the shelves these days.

Issue number four of, Veggie Dog Saturn, is a damn fine book and a heck of a bargain at only two dollars. You can find Jason Young and his book at Mavericks Card and Comic Shop or you can purchase it online at Buyer Beware Comics. I highly reccomend Jason's book and I hope you'll give it a try. The kid's got some talent and a whole bunch of heart, always a winning combination in my book.