cover image I Can't Tell You Anything: 2and Other Stories

I Can't Tell You Anything: 2and Other Stories

Michael Dougan. Penguin Books, $14 (224pp) ISBN 978-0-14-017710-7

In these largely autobiographical tales, Dougan ( East Texas) displays his ability, rare among younger cartoonists, to write and illustrate stories that are often as eerily tender as they are funny and idiosyncratic. In his chicken story trilogy he remembers how, as young boy, he was chased by a fierce and ill-tempered rooster that later paid dearly for the attack. Another trilogy story is a strange account of a summer job as a hearse driver; an unrequited, long-distance love affair; and a very bad, very embarrassing chicken dinner. In several stories he chronicles his bad luck with cars--new, old and rented--and one motorcycle; and runs the gamut from bizarre accidents to hapless encounters with the law. This volume also presents the story of Dougan's first visit to New York City, full of personal adventure (a lost address book, miraculously retrieved) and confrontations with his own preconceptions about life in New York. Dougan's drawing style is simple, boldly rendered and well suited to the broad emotional range of his stories. (Mar.)