Readers of The Lost Art

Writer and Artist: Kyle Baker.

Reviewer: Alex

There are many reasons why I love Why I Hate Saturn: it’s got wit, style, cynicism, charm, it’s a little different from anything else and, by gum, it’s laugh-out-loud funny. It’s one of the few books I choose to re-read with any regularity and it still makes me laugh.

The key ingredient is main protagonist and narrator Anne, a columnist for a hip New York magazine trying to make sense of the vacuousness of pop-cultural modern life. She’s acerbic but insecure, overly fond of self-analysis and drinking too much. She argues with her best friend Rick, she argues with her editor, and most of all she argues with her very earnest (but quite possibly delusional) sister, who turns up on her doorstep with a gunshot wound.

The book is an impressive balancing act. It spends time creating believable characters but allows a (slightly screwball) plot to gradually gain momentum to develop those characters. It provides plenty of musings about relationships, society, creativity, and alcohol-vending establishments, but far from detracting from the characterisation, it’s done with such well-crafted dialogue and monologue that it significantly contributes to building characters you can believe in and empathise with.

The balanced tone of the book is perfectly matched by its art – Baker displays a considerable ability to capture the subtleties of facial expression, really bringing his characters to life; but equally he applies a deft use of caricature to heighten the humour without diminishing realism.

What marks this out as a minor classic is that although it’s firmly rooted in the late 80’s / early 90’s setting of its original release, it doesn’t feel dated at all. In fact, its sense of time and place only serves to make it more engaging, and I’m sure I’ll still be coming back to ‘Why I Hate Saturn’ for many years to come.
Paperback: 199 pages
Publisher: DC Comics (Dec 1998)
Language: English
ISBN: 0930289722

(First published 26/07/2006.)