Not my bag - Sina Grace

Whatdo you get when you put an artist in a department store selling nice clothes,all the while wondering why being so clearly in retail hell doesn't stop himfrom having a modicum of ambition to move up the fashion food chain? Grace (TheL'il Depressed Boy) draws upon his experience in retail to craft a graphic novelthat gives us a window into the life of an artist who is forced to take a job hedoesn't really want in order to pay the bills. What make the story so moving areboth the celebration of fashion Grace's character gives us and the introspectionof the artist as he looks back on the relationships that have served to definehim. While making connections to The Devil Wears Prada is natural, theprotagonist's reliance on his partner's understanding and support gets himthrough the retail ordeal. Grace's attention to form and his skill with visualhyperbole (as in, for example, the saleswoman he depicts as a Skrull) areperfectly suited to the narrative. A sophisticated graphic novel that amplydisplays Grace's talent for visual storytelling. (Oct.)