The Comics Journal

Recent SVA grad Brendan C. Leach has just published a clever mock newspaper from 1904 that features the exploits of NYC’s famed pterodactyl hunters. “Battle Above the Bowery,” screams one headline; “Pterodactyl Commission Remembers Fallen Hunters,” says another. The 36-page newspaper includes Chris Ware-style adverts on the back cover (“Fruit Lands for Sale”; “Ruggles Receives a New Condenser for Water”), as well as an off-beat adventure comic inside.

Leach studied with some of SVA’s finest, including David Mazzuchelli, Tom Hart, and Gary Panter. His comic shows tremendous promise. His linework reminds me a little of Ben Katchor’s, with Stan Mack and Ted McKeever thrown in for good measure. He also knows how to tell a story. Two thumbs up, in other words.

Free copies of “The Sun” are available at Desert Island Comics and elsewhere in Brooklyn. Here are a couple of sample images.