The Envelope Manufacturer

Former D&Q publisher Oliveros returns to his cartooning roots and delves into the melancholy of a failing envelope business in this slim, affecting volume. Mr. Cluthers, the central character, has weathered angry creditors, repo men, and obsolete technology at the helm of his enterprise, always managing to stay afloat. But in the struggle to find a new part for his faltering machinery, he faces the disintegrating foundations of his own life. This book does a tremendous job of portraying the disconnection of Cluthers’s world: loved ones talk past one another, anger and sorrow go unexpressed, and even those looking to commit suicide are unable to take their final jump. Oliveros’s use of speech bubbles with long, sinuous tails is particularly effective: words are literally tripped over, lost, and constricting. This is a thoughtful portrait of a changing world—and the lives that must change within it, or end. (Jan.)