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Hair Shirt (2013)

by Pat McEown(Favorite Author)

3.27 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

1906838275 (ISBN13: 9781906838270)

languge

English

genre

Graphic Novels & Comics

publisher

SelfMadeHero

review 1: Pat McEown's Hair Shirt is a curious read. I was enticed into picking it up at a comics convention by McEown's scratchy style, where no line is ever truly straight, no shadow truly black and his character design, while initially appearing simple, is full of a pleasingly real variety. Colourist Liz Artinan's muted pallete choices are compelling, the dream sequences particularly queasy and disturbing in television glow greens.At its heart, Hair Shirt is a psycho-sexual drama told mainly from the perspective of John, an introverted, artistic 20-something with little luck when it comes to love and a shared sense of loss with childhood friend/sweetheart, the enigmatic Naomi, a sociology student who returns to their hometown after moving away for a long time. It's clear that the... more two of them share an affection, but it soon becomes evident that their time apart has left them very different people and that their connection is as fragile as each other's psyche. John's delusional insecurity and somewhat infantile inability to process the feelings of others and Naomi's teasing cruel streak and extroverted nature soon clash and tragic truths come to light. It's a sad and introspective tale and feels, in an odd way, like an anti-Scott Pilgrim. While Bryan Lee O'Malley's eponymous protagonists journey is considerably longer and rather more action-oriented, he shares a naïvety and guilelessness with John. However, the similarities end there. Hair Shirt is a far more realistic story but it somehow feels less substantial and satisfactory. John still finds it difficult to process his own thoughts let alone those of others and while the reader gains an understanding of the situation, it feels like history will simply keep repeating.While Hair Shirt is a beautiful book visually, the story is saddening for a multitude of reasons beyond the simple narrative, and ultimately the reader is left wondering who exactly the hair shirt was meant for.
review 2: Picked this up from the library because I was captivated by the cover and the art throughout the book. I was captivated by the dream sequences as well, but not much else. I knew after 10 pages that I wasn't going to be interested in the story and would probably hate it, but I kept reading any way, because I just do these things to myself. So I read 100-something more pages about some straight boy's girl problems, his weird guilt about being a fucking creep, his totally unaware self-absorption, his jealously and paranoia, and his eye-roll inducing pseudo feminism. Which conveniently hinges on the contrast of him against Naomi as a manipulative, misogynist character; there's something really gross about a male comic who writes a shitty female character who encourages her boyfriend to rape or assault her friend (because she's insecure and jealous? because she had a fucked up childhood and abusive older brother? because she's engaging in some serious self-sabotage? it's not clear, who knows?) so the male protagonist can be appalled and respond with, more-or-less: "Yeah I like big tits but that doesn't make me a rapist!" I think I was supposed to like this guy?? I can't even tell. The only character I liked was Shaz, but she only existed to add even more conflict to John and Naomi's relationship. Gross, boring, alienating, and really just a mess. Everything to hate about a male-dominated comic world wrapped up in a short beautifully drawn and colored novel. less

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