Anders Nilsen

It was in 2003 that Leesa and I met Anders Nilsen and his partner Cheryl Weaver at the inaugeral T.C.A.F.! So it came as a shock to both of us when we saw the forthcoming 'comic' from Anders as a comemoration of Cheryl's fight against hodgkins lymphoma. Don't Go Where I Can't Follow is a journal of notes, sketches and photos of her fight and untimely passing. Art is what we talked about three years ago and the struggle of being an artist today. Since that time, Anders has become a force to note about in the world of comix and graphic novels, from the pages of Mome to Dogs and Water and my favorite big question of Big Questions. His work, even in it's minimalist of forms, touches upon the aimless journey of life and all the frail steps that question or punctuate our emotional process(es). Meaningful? Only in absurdity and in the human condition does the rounded questions get more blurred and wander off into the distance. Maybe, I make his work sound too philosophical but in the end it is about man vs. man, man vs. nature and in this latest offering man vs. self and the healing of the creative process. Seek out Anders work and look out for his Monologue for the Coming Plague from Fantagraphics and The End (tentatively scheduled for next year). Required reading for the Bigheaded.