Birdseye Bristoe
An engagingly loopy look at a small town coming up against technological change, Birdseye Bristoe (the title refers to the name of the town as well as that of its most prominent resident) is the long-awaited debut graphic novel from minicomics artist Zettwoch. A pair of teens arrives to spend the summer with their granduncle Birdseye just as the town has embarked on an ambitious but controversial project to erect a massive cell phone tower. As the summer unfolds, we learn about the town’s handful of business establishments (a bait shop, an adult superstore), its landmarks (the water tower, the Great Fallen Sign), and its eccentric residents, foremost among them the crusty Uncle Birdseye, a WWII vet who owns most of the town’s land. The ambling narrative is interspersed with Zettwoch’s signature mock-informative, Popular Mechanics–derived diagrams that reveal how to make a Red Cow milkshake or how to harvest nightcrawlers. Zettwoch’s low-tech graphic approach, utilizing ballpoint, colored pencils, and whiteout, is an ideal match for this fetchingly ramshackle slice of bygone Americana. --Gordon Flagg