Ohio Is for Sale

It's extremely difficult to find a likable protagonist in the pages of this debut collection. In virtually no time, Allen's three adorable anthropomorphic post-college roommates cross the threshold from indifferent slackers to dangerous nihilists, burning down cars, blowing up property, and occasionally (albeit accidentally) killing one another with baseball bats. The story, collected from a series of self-published mini comics, extends its character's lack of motivation to cartoon conclusions in a manner that is sometimes funny, often depressing, and occasionally a surprisingly insightful peek into existential questions about the human conditions. It's all tempered by Allen's warm and appealing cartooning style and his cast's amusing Jackass-style stunts. (Apr.)