Sometime last year, Don and I were sent copies of a self-published project called My Uncle Jeff, one of many small press projects that crossed our desks in 2002. However, My Uncle Jeff stood out not only amongst that crowd but amongst all the comics we had read last year, and I've been anxious ever since to see more work from that creative team. Hurd and Camello, the creators of My Uncle Jeff, are back with A Sort of Homecoming, a story in three parts about a young man who has lost his best friend, and how he reacts to both that loss and others suffered recently that bring up memories from the past. It's an emotionally affecting and thoroughly believable piece of work about first love, rough patches and losing people, and it stands out as one of the best comics I've read all year.
What struck me about My Uncle Jeff, and it's true of A Sort of Homecoming too, is how real these characters seem. Owen, David, Emma, even Shannon who we only see by reference, they all come to life as characters. The story is about loss, how Owen has lost two people, one for good and one maybe not, and Hurd and Camello really bring that loss home. Despite not having a lot of room to explore these characters, they choose just the right moments to show so that the reader becomes engaged and involved with these characters, and it makes us understand the feelings that the lead character, Owen, is going through.
Hurd's structure here is impeccable. I'm reminded of some of the stronger episodes of The West Wing, as he flashes back to different periods of time all the while telling a story in the now, and the previous stories reinforce elements and themes in the main tale. The beginning of Owen and David's friendship and its evolution through high school and college not only ring true given the settings but show the undercurrents of their lives, how their romantic fortunes were different and how they ended up, and I believe in this friendship even as I see how it could have grown more distant as they grew up. There's an astounding amount of emotional story in this book, and characters who can be fun without being cartoons and dramatic without being maudlin.
This is a true collaboration, as I can't imagine it working as well without either creator. Camello's artwork was strong in Uncle Jeff, but it is even stronger in Homecoming. Reminiscent of Tim (Copybook Tales) Levin and Mike (Fantastic Four) Wieringo, it's built on strong character designs, excellent expressiveness and solid storytelling. There seems to be a pretty strong bond of trust between these two creators as well, because Hurd has several sequences here where he lets the silence and the artwork tell the story, and Camello never fails to deliver.
Anyone who has ever lost a friend or relative needs to read A Sort of Homecoming, which captures all the emotions and thoughts that go around in one's mind at such a time. Hurd and Camello wrote one of the year's best in My Uncle Jeff, and A Sort of Homecoming stands right up alongside it as excellent work.
