Neither bagged nor boarded

Every now and then I'll get a package of goodies from my pal Carla in San Francisco, and this time it was comics that she picked up on her journeys through Thailand. You won't find these in the lobby of a modernist hotel in Bangkok or exclusive spa in Phuket.


The publications are half-page size and thin--8 pages counting the covers--but soulful and cool. No superheroes in long underwear, just tales of history, horror, romance, and Muay Thai! I like how the straight-up drawing style matches the local, everyday content.


Some of the covers are printed on old school worksheets. The one below has someone's hand-written English homework on the inside. What's up with Thai penmanship? It's so good, maybe because the English alphabet is so simple compared to what they usually write.


The insides are colorful but not full-color, if you know what I mean. Some of the wipes are multi-hued like a concert poster from the Haight-Ashbury days or maybe a Space 1026 art zine.


Nothing in English, so I'm missing the nuances but shock endings are universal so I can pretty much figure out what's happened. In the case below, I'm guessing the protagonist just figured out that the monster that was attacking her turned out to be her cursed lover or something.


Gasp! Sob! I could go for a Thai iced coffee...