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Not My Bag
From the artist of The Li'l Depressed Boy, and Amber Benson's Among the Ghosts, comes a haunting retail hell story like you've never encountered before! A young artist takes a job at a department store in order to make ends meet... little does he know that he may meet his end! In this gothic story for fans of Black Swan, Blankets, and The Devil Wears Prada, can the artist withstand competitive pressure, treachery, and high fashion while still keeping his soul?
96 pages, Paperback
First published October 23, 2012
2 people are currently reading
402 people want to read
About the author
Sina Grace
227 books145 followersSina Grace’s parents had big plans for their son: Ivy League schooling, professional credentials, a 6-figure income as a doctor– the works! Fortunately for us, he found the wonderful world of comics instead. It was in this world of contradictions that he “matured,” one foot teetering on the edge of academia, the other drawn to the inescapable grasp of an ink-bound fantasy underworld.
At 14, Grace seemingly appeased his parents by interning at Top Cow Productions, under the guidance of Editor-in-Chief Renae Geerlings (his single mother figured at least he was collecting college credit). However the only thing he was collecting (other than comics), was the compulsive habit of drawing unrealistically proportioned, scantily clad women.
At 16, he got a perpetual summer-time job at the Santa Monica landmark: Hi De Ho Comics, where he would be inspired to create Books with Pictures. By 17 he wrote, drew, and self-published his first comic, The Roller-Derby Robo-Dykes versus the Cannibals. His knowledge of disproportionate harlots with weapons came in handy when depicting a story about Robo-Dykes bent on taking over the world. His mother was happy that he was taking interest in girls. The book went into a second printing, and received the praise of Lying in the Gutters critic, Rich Johnston.
Weeks after graduating high school, he was asked by Rilo Kiley front-woman Jenny Lewis to illustrate a limited edition comic book adaptation of their 2004 record, More Adventurous. In the spring of 2006 he was asked to apprentice under comics genius, Howard Chaykin (even though it may not be apparent in Books with Pictures, Grace did learn the function of a ruler and the meaning of a vanishing point).
Between the summers of 2005 and 06, Grace’s partially-biographical indie dramedy, Books with Pictures, went from hand-xeroxed zines to full-fledged, full-sized comic books. Shortly after its debut at San Diego Comic-Con, Diamond Distributors accepted the series into their ordering catalogue, Previews. Grace’s work on the series was met with admiration from bloggers and reviewers alike, and has since taken on several projects for multiple anthologies due in late 2008.
To his parents’ delight, he graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz, receiving an undergraduate degree in Literature, with an emphasis on Creative Writing.
Sina Grace recently self-published an illustrated novel about a sorcerer sleuth in Orange County, aptly named Cedric Hollows in Dial M for Magic, his next project will be providing illustrations for Amber Benson’s novel, Among the Ghosts, through Aladdin Books.
At 14, Grace seemingly appeased his parents by interning at Top Cow Productions, under the guidance of Editor-in-Chief Renae Geerlings (his single mother figured at least he was collecting college credit). However the only thing he was collecting (other than comics), was the compulsive habit of drawing unrealistically proportioned, scantily clad women.
At 16, he got a perpetual summer-time job at the Santa Monica landmark: Hi De Ho Comics, where he would be inspired to create Books with Pictures. By 17 he wrote, drew, and self-published his first comic, The Roller-Derby Robo-Dykes versus the Cannibals. His knowledge of disproportionate harlots with weapons came in handy when depicting a story about Robo-Dykes bent on taking over the world. His mother was happy that he was taking interest in girls. The book went into a second printing, and received the praise of Lying in the Gutters critic, Rich Johnston.
Weeks after graduating high school, he was asked by Rilo Kiley front-woman Jenny Lewis to illustrate a limited edition comic book adaptation of their 2004 record, More Adventurous. In the spring of 2006 he was asked to apprentice under comics genius, Howard Chaykin (even though it may not be apparent in Books with Pictures, Grace did learn the function of a ruler and the meaning of a vanishing point).
Between the summers of 2005 and 06, Grace’s partially-biographical indie dramedy, Books with Pictures, went from hand-xeroxed zines to full-fledged, full-sized comic books. Shortly after its debut at San Diego Comic-Con, Diamond Distributors accepted the series into their ordering catalogue, Previews. Grace’s work on the series was met with admiration from bloggers and reviewers alike, and has since taken on several projects for multiple anthologies due in late 2008.
To his parents’ delight, he graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz, receiving an undergraduate degree in Literature, with an emphasis on Creative Writing.
Sina Grace recently self-published an illustrated novel about a sorcerer sleuth in Orange County, aptly named Cedric Hollows in Dial M for Magic, his next project will be providing illustrations for Amber Benson’s novel, Among the Ghosts, through Aladdin Books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
May 8, 2019
Urgh, this was so mediocre! The synopsis hinted at something mysterious in the shitty retail job, the word 'gothic' and the phrase 'meets-his-end' were used and there are tentacles coming out of a shopping bag on the cover (!), when it actual fact it was just a very traditional story about a sales job. Young man dreams of McQueen but works in upper-class old-lady clothing department, draping scarves. Can't manage his money or deal with a relationship built on passion. Hates his boss and doesn't understand why they won't promote him. Sound boring and familiar? It is.
Two stars are for the art, which was nice. But only just nice.
========================
Morning at the library: A small selection of graphic novels for a cloudy May morning.
1) In the Sounds and Seas by Marnie Galloway
2) Snotgirl Volume 1 by Bryan Lee O'Malley
3) Not My Bag by Sina Grace
4) Snotgirl Volume 2 by Brian Lee O'Malley
Two stars are for the art, which was nice. But only just nice.
========================
Morning at the library: A small selection of graphic novels for a cloudy May morning.
1) In the Sounds and Seas by Marnie Galloway
2) Snotgirl Volume 1 by Bryan Lee O'Malley
3) Not My Bag by Sina Grace
4) Snotgirl Volume 2 by Brian Lee O'Malley
January 13, 2014
I had this recommended to me by a co-worker after spending some time talking about how wonderfully bizarre the fashion industry is and our own vanity. It was amazing and I loved it.
It appears to be a somewhat autobiographical tale about the perils of retail, the thrall of fashion and the difficulties of relationships both past and present. While I found it highly enjoyable as all three of these themes appealed to me, I can see it may fall flat for those who don't find appeal or resonance with the subject matter.
We follow the artist as he loses himself to the strange glamour a retail role in a high-end department store has. Soon it is sales and fashion not his own art that drives him daily. The stories of his previous and current relationship are also interwoven throughout the narrative. While they don't appear to have immediate relevance to the story, it is elegantly done and does inform the story and enrich the characters.
While I can see why it may be labeled 'gothic' that may be a tad misleading to most. It is certainly more The Devil Wears Prada than any literary gothic tale the tentacle on the cover suggests. Just a note to those who would judge a book by its cover.
The illustration is also highly enjoyable being clean, crisp and expressive.
Due to its subject it may not have wide appeal to those generally interested in graphic novels but I would urge those people to give it a go. Sure it is self-indulgent and not the usual fare but that is exactly why you should try it. Diversity is the spice of life as they say. If you have an interest in fashion or have worked in a competitive commission based retail environment there will be real appeal here too. Also it does feature a genuine and non-cliche gay relationship which may be attractive to some.
It appears to be a somewhat autobiographical tale about the perils of retail, the thrall of fashion and the difficulties of relationships both past and present. While I found it highly enjoyable as all three of these themes appealed to me, I can see it may fall flat for those who don't find appeal or resonance with the subject matter.
We follow the artist as he loses himself to the strange glamour a retail role in a high-end department store has. Soon it is sales and fashion not his own art that drives him daily. The stories of his previous and current relationship are also interwoven throughout the narrative. While they don't appear to have immediate relevance to the story, it is elegantly done and does inform the story and enrich the characters.
While I can see why it may be labeled 'gothic' that may be a tad misleading to most. It is certainly more The Devil Wears Prada than any literary gothic tale the tentacle on the cover suggests. Just a note to those who would judge a book by its cover.
The illustration is also highly enjoyable being clean, crisp and expressive.
Due to its subject it may not have wide appeal to those generally interested in graphic novels but I would urge those people to give it a go. Sure it is self-indulgent and not the usual fare but that is exactly why you should try it. Diversity is the spice of life as they say. If you have an interest in fashion or have worked in a competitive commission based retail environment there will be real appeal here too. Also it does feature a genuine and non-cliche gay relationship which may be attractive to some.
January 2, 2020
Went into it expecting nothing and that was a good decision. I read the blurb after I finished the book and thankfully so, or the word ‘gothic’ would have made me expect something this book wasn’t.
Sina wanted to go for a Devil Wears Pravda vibe and now that I’ve read this, I can see how he tried to do that but I mean??
It is a typical tale of being restrained by material desires in attempts to be the artist that you want to be. He uses a lot of quotes by cultural and literary figures like Roland Barthes which was a little confusing. I believe he wished to state that you don’t need to be a ‘cultural figure’ to be an artist. I believe that Sina attempted to address some really interesting points here but he didn’t do justice to any of them because of his enthusiasm and ambition.
But that connects to his story too, in a weird circular way.
Sina wanted to go for a Devil Wears Pravda vibe and now that I’ve read this, I can see how he tried to do that but I mean??
It is a typical tale of being restrained by material desires in attempts to be the artist that you want to be. He uses a lot of quotes by cultural and literary figures like Roland Barthes which was a little confusing. I believe he wished to state that you don’t need to be a ‘cultural figure’ to be an artist. I believe that Sina attempted to address some really interesting points here but he didn’t do justice to any of them because of his enthusiasm and ambition.
But that connects to his story too, in a weird circular way.
June 7, 2015
I thought there would be more interesting or spooky elements here, but it was mostly just a rant about retail jobs and "oh poor me, I have to bend to capitalism and work rather than just pursuing my actual interests".
I liked the art style, but there wasn't a whole lot of depth to the storytelling. It could have explored in greater depth his response to mental breakdown is like or how being queer and/or Persian presents a unique set of pressures, but the narrative was just really superficial and kind of dull.
I liked the art style, but there wasn't a whole lot of depth to the storytelling. It could have explored in greater depth his response to mental breakdown is like or how being queer and/or Persian presents a unique set of pressures, but the narrative was just really superficial and kind of dull.
January 10, 2019
What was I supposed to get out of this book? It’s not funny, it has too much text for the graphic novel and doesn’t add anything with the illustrations. I dont say they are bad; they were made by a talented hand, but they didn’t add anything to the story, neither by storytelling nor by some clever illustrative way that make you go “ow that’s a cool idea”.
October 15, 2012
This is pretty divine. He does a VERY good job at sending up a particular personality type, while also owning up to the parts of himself that need sending. Clean crisp art. Michael grabbed this on a last casual swoop through artist alley and I read it last night and am glad he did.
March 21, 2024
2.5 -- this was just OK! love the insight into fashion and the viciousness of retail, but didn't find the plot too compelling? tbh felt a little dramatic and self-important (wildly racist at some points) so it was difficult to feel for our main character. sry
September 8, 2020
This was sent to me by the Coll-Father for my birthday. It was cute and reminded me of a lot of my own experiences working in retail. However, I think this could've been better - needed more horrible experiences of working in retail rather than focusing on the politics and the author's personal progression/goals: I certainly witnessed things you couldn't even imagine while working in retail and I feel like this held back. However, it's a cute read.
April 7, 2019
From the cover and the description, I was under the assumption that this book would be much different than it is. I assumed it would more comedic and lean a bit more into the realm of fantasy. As it turns out though...it's a fairly standard memoir. Not necessarily a bad thing, but not quite what I expected. Art's kinda neat.
May 10, 2019
I'm clearly not the first one to have been led - by the cover and the description alike - to expect a spooky eldritch horror story. Needless to say, that wasn't a thing. But even so - once I got over the initial disappointment, I don't regret sticking to it and seeing where it'd go. The art was nice and I ended up relating to the main character... perhaps a little too much.
March 9, 2013
I loved the art and style, but I was a little disappointed the tentacle on the cover was figurative rather than literal. That's what I get for judging a book by its cover.
February 10, 2016
Solid read.
It was kinda scary to read some stuff since the working enviroment is very familliar to me.
It was kinda scary to read some stuff since the working enviroment is very familliar to me.
April 5, 2020
Judging by the description and cover of this graphic novel, I was expecting a horror story in a retail setting -- not unlike Grady Hendrix's Horrorstör to be honest. Let's face it, when the description compares it to "Black Swan" and calls it gothic horror -- and when the cover teases at a possible Lovecraftian horror story with the tentacle rising out of the shopping bag, you're pretty much expecting horror. But "Not My Bag" is not horror in the least -- it's pretty much The Devil Wears Prada with an insufferable male protagonist, and bloated with a pointless side story about the author's dysfunctional love life that barely fits with the retail-oriented main story.
"Not My Bag" tells the story of a cash-strapped artist (presumably the author, Sina) taking a job at a high-priced women's boutique. At first he only intends to take the job until things look up in his art life... but soon he finds himself competing for customers and commissions with his cutthroat co-workers, participating in workplace backstabbing and ladder-climbing, and being pushed aside from a promised promotion time and again to his frustration. And while he's being consumed by work, he finds his love life suffering... and starts lamenting the ghosts of his past who keep him from fully committing to someone...
My biggest beef with this book is, of course, that it promises one thing but gives you another. "The Devil Wears Prada" is not my favorite story (though to be fair, I've only seen the film and haven't read the book yet), but I'm sure there are readers who would be interested in reading that story but with a male protagonist. But when you're promised a horror story and get something else entirely... well, it's frustrating.
On its own merits, the story could have been entertaining. But the story itself is wildly uneven, veering from retail life to minutia of the fashion world to the main character's past boyfriends, without a lot of cohesion in between. None of the characters are particularly likable, even the main character, who comes across as a selfish whiner (the fact that he never refers to his partner by name and only refers to them as "the lawyer" doesn't help this). He makes much of the "ghosts of his past," but we never really find out why these "ghosts" are so debilitating to him.
The art style is fairly lackluster as well, and panel layout and the flow of words and images on the page can be confusing to follow. Graphic novels should tell stories, I feel, but they also need good art... and sadly, the art here isn't strong enough to redeem the weak and disappointing story.
"Not My Bag" is not only a case of false advertising, it's just not a very good story. If you want horror in a retail setting, you're better off reading "Horrorstor." If you want a story of cutthroat politics in the fashion industry, read "The Devil Wears Prada."
"Not My Bag" tells the story of a cash-strapped artist (presumably the author, Sina) taking a job at a high-priced women's boutique. At first he only intends to take the job until things look up in his art life... but soon he finds himself competing for customers and commissions with his cutthroat co-workers, participating in workplace backstabbing and ladder-climbing, and being pushed aside from a promised promotion time and again to his frustration. And while he's being consumed by work, he finds his love life suffering... and starts lamenting the ghosts of his past who keep him from fully committing to someone...
My biggest beef with this book is, of course, that it promises one thing but gives you another. "The Devil Wears Prada" is not my favorite story (though to be fair, I've only seen the film and haven't read the book yet), but I'm sure there are readers who would be interested in reading that story but with a male protagonist. But when you're promised a horror story and get something else entirely... well, it's frustrating.
On its own merits, the story could have been entertaining. But the story itself is wildly uneven, veering from retail life to minutia of the fashion world to the main character's past boyfriends, without a lot of cohesion in between. None of the characters are particularly likable, even the main character, who comes across as a selfish whiner (the fact that he never refers to his partner by name and only refers to them as "the lawyer" doesn't help this). He makes much of the "ghosts of his past," but we never really find out why these "ghosts" are so debilitating to him.
The art style is fairly lackluster as well, and panel layout and the flow of words and images on the page can be confusing to follow. Graphic novels should tell stories, I feel, but they also need good art... and sadly, the art here isn't strong enough to redeem the weak and disappointing story.
"Not My Bag" is not only a case of false advertising, it's just not a very good story. If you want horror in a retail setting, you're better off reading "Horrorstor." If you want a story of cutthroat politics in the fashion industry, read "The Devil Wears Prada."
August 31, 2016
**This review includes a review of the newly published Self-Obsessed comic by the same creator (see below).**
As in any sales position, there are backstabbers to deal with, managers who cannot be relied upon, and customers who are NOT always right. This is the story of a guy trying to avoid all of the above and still do a good job.
The book was nice because it gave us an insider's peek into something as common as a (upscale) mall retail position, and made it clear that there is more involved than just putting clothes on hangers.
The author did himself a disservice by throwing fantastical elements into an otherwise interesting read. For example, if he didn't like a particular bitchy co-worker he'd draw her with fangs, claws, and a monster-like mouth. This was a distraction.
The art itself was weak, lacking style, and sloppy as well. The book was also thin, but that didn't stop its publishers from giving it a big price.
This was a 2.5 / 5-star book, but I'm feeling generous today so I'm rounding up. I support slice-of-life books like this in a world overflowing with costumed superhero books.
______________________
Now, I would like to do a second review of a comic by this same author/artist, and I'm putting this addendum here because this particular one-shot comic isn't on goodreads yet. The comic is called
Self
-
Obsessed
and that one little trick with the hyphen getting its own line is the closest thing to interesting graphics in the whole book. Yep, Sina blew his wad on the front cover and had nothing else to offer. The book is..well...it's unlike anything else I've ever seen.
I picked up Self-Obsessed based on the hopes that the creator of Not My Bag would progress in his artistic ability and his writing skills. That didn't happen. Not even close.
This is the kind of book that is so bad you absolutely can't wait to finish the thing before you start composing the snarky little things you will say about it on goodreads. But we're not going to pick on the poor artist for little things like his complete misuse of English grammar in multiple locations. No, no. We've got much bigger fish to fry here.
This is the kind of book made with so little introspection that the creator has a conversation with himself about how an older male lover is just trying to use the new generation of gay men to seem younger and live vicariously through them. Hmmm. This is also a book in which this creator, who is heading toward 30 at breakneck speed, uses the word 'TOTES' in casual conversation. As in 'TOTSIES'. As in, if he's over 15 he should probably use the adult version of the word, which has always been 'TOTALLY', at least since the early 1980s.
The art looked like he wrapped the tip of his pens in his man thong and couldn't figure out why the ink was having difficulty getting to the page. It's a fucking smudgefest. To be honest, I can't think of a worse artist working at the moment. Is it that I just don't like his particular style of art? NO! There is no style when an 'artist' cannot even render basic things like an anatomical part, or clothing, or a door, or anything in the background.
Okay, so not everyone can draw like a comic master. He must make up for it with some really good stories, right? No! And not just 'No', but Fuck No! It's a bunch of gender identity issues and relationship shit, filled with his fantasy of giant, 6-foot penises, a full page dedicated to his love of Sarah Jessica Parker's hair, and even a penis on the cover. Its all surface oriented crap, and even half of that is made up because he tells you he made composite characters. In other words he makes up situations so he looks smart and cute in his own little semi-autobiographical ficto-comic. Ain't no meat on these chicken bones, just skin and glitter.
This jumble of shit uses distractingly bad font choices, as well as incorrectly sized and disproportionate art projects he made years ago in high school. In fact, he KNOWS the crap is bad and he cuts parts of it out, excusing his lackluster storytelling skills by saying he cut out the parts that were boring. Well, yeah, there should have been cuts (like the whole thing), but can you at least finish the little story you started????
This whole comic is made up of unforgivable amateur filler. This isn't a retrospective of an important artist, it's just all he had sitting around on a shelf somewhere. When the art doesn't fit the page he just gives you blank white space or a list of songs he likes, without rhyme or reason!
THERE ARE ENTIRE PAGES OF TEXT IN THIS THING BECAUSE THE ARTIST KNOWS HE CAN'T DRAW. THERE ARE PAGES OF JUST RANDOM DRAWINGS IN HERE BECAUSE THE AUTHOR KNOWS HE CAN'T WRITE. THERE'S A PAGE WHERE BETTER ARTISTS EMBARASSINGLY (AND PROBABLY REGRETFULLY) DREW THIS ARTIST IN SUPER-QUICK, THERE-YOU-GO-KID-NOW-SCRAM COMIC CONVENTION STYLE! THERE ARE EVEN FIVE WHOLE PAGES OF PHOTOS OF THE ARTIST IN THIS THING. FIVE. WHOLE. FUCKING. PAGES. WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?????
How did this abortion get published? He was an intern with this comic company and apparently they thought he was owed a favor.
I'm now revising my overall rating of this creator's skills based on the quality of this book, and Sina Grace is now on my shit list of comic creators who wasted my time and my money with sub-par, retard-level product. This is the kind of immature dreck that killed independent comics in the mid 1980s and spilled over into the early 1990s, a glut of poor quality slop that the industry has not yet recovered from.
Mr. Grace goes so far as to include a preemptive excuse in the form of a quote in bold for why his book will be so poorly received: "There are a ton of wonderful queer creators, and I don't know how true this is, but my perception is that we're still being ghettoized" Oh, no no no you don't. You don't have the right to hide behind your sexual preferences when you put out trash like this product. The art sucks. The stories suck. The lack of coherence sucks. You, young man, need to take responsibility for your lack of artistic integrity. I purchased this comic MONTHS after I read Not My Bag. In that book you make it clear that you are gay or bi-. I didn't give a shit, didn't mention it once in my review, and I gave you a review that the material earned. Believe me, I'll be doing the same here with this comic.
Sina Grace, in your book you tell us how you have dreamed of being a comic creator since you were a little boy. This is your wakeup call: It's time to find a new dream. If you have the ability to be objective, as you look at the graphic novels around your home, you must realize that your lack of artistic skills places you very, very near the bottom of the books you have read over the years. Your delusion of comic greatness, or even competence, needs to end.
I know we're only four years into the 2010s, but I guess someone has to call it because it's inconceivable anything could be worse than this book: Self-Obsessed is the worst comic of the decade.
As in any sales position, there are backstabbers to deal with, managers who cannot be relied upon, and customers who are NOT always right. This is the story of a guy trying to avoid all of the above and still do a good job.
The book was nice because it gave us an insider's peek into something as common as a (upscale) mall retail position, and made it clear that there is more involved than just putting clothes on hangers.
The author did himself a disservice by throwing fantastical elements into an otherwise interesting read. For example, if he didn't like a particular bitchy co-worker he'd draw her with fangs, claws, and a monster-like mouth. This was a distraction.
The art itself was weak, lacking style, and sloppy as well. The book was also thin, but that didn't stop its publishers from giving it a big price.
This was a 2.5 / 5-star book, but I'm feeling generous today so I'm rounding up. I support slice-of-life books like this in a world overflowing with costumed superhero books.
______________________
Now, I would like to do a second review of a comic by this same author/artist, and I'm putting this addendum here because this particular one-shot comic isn't on goodreads yet. The comic is called
Self
-
Obsessed
and that one little trick with the hyphen getting its own line is the closest thing to interesting graphics in the whole book. Yep, Sina blew his wad on the front cover and had nothing else to offer. The book is..well...it's unlike anything else I've ever seen.
I picked up Self-Obsessed based on the hopes that the creator of Not My Bag would progress in his artistic ability and his writing skills. That didn't happen. Not even close.
This is the kind of book that is so bad you absolutely can't wait to finish the thing before you start composing the snarky little things you will say about it on goodreads. But we're not going to pick on the poor artist for little things like his complete misuse of English grammar in multiple locations. No, no. We've got much bigger fish to fry here.
This is the kind of book made with so little introspection that the creator has a conversation with himself about how an older male lover is just trying to use the new generation of gay men to seem younger and live vicariously through them. Hmmm. This is also a book in which this creator, who is heading toward 30 at breakneck speed, uses the word 'TOTES' in casual conversation. As in 'TOTSIES'. As in, if he's over 15 he should probably use the adult version of the word, which has always been 'TOTALLY', at least since the early 1980s.
The art looked like he wrapped the tip of his pens in his man thong and couldn't figure out why the ink was having difficulty getting to the page. It's a fucking smudgefest. To be honest, I can't think of a worse artist working at the moment. Is it that I just don't like his particular style of art? NO! There is no style when an 'artist' cannot even render basic things like an anatomical part, or clothing, or a door, or anything in the background.
Okay, so not everyone can draw like a comic master. He must make up for it with some really good stories, right? No! And not just 'No', but Fuck No! It's a bunch of gender identity issues and relationship shit, filled with his fantasy of giant, 6-foot penises, a full page dedicated to his love of Sarah Jessica Parker's hair, and even a penis on the cover. Its all surface oriented crap, and even half of that is made up because he tells you he made composite characters. In other words he makes up situations so he looks smart and cute in his own little semi-autobiographical ficto-comic. Ain't no meat on these chicken bones, just skin and glitter.
This jumble of shit uses distractingly bad font choices, as well as incorrectly sized and disproportionate art projects he made years ago in high school. In fact, he KNOWS the crap is bad and he cuts parts of it out, excusing his lackluster storytelling skills by saying he cut out the parts that were boring. Well, yeah, there should have been cuts (like the whole thing), but can you at least finish the little story you started????
This whole comic is made up of unforgivable amateur filler. This isn't a retrospective of an important artist, it's just all he had sitting around on a shelf somewhere. When the art doesn't fit the page he just gives you blank white space or a list of songs he likes, without rhyme or reason!
THERE ARE ENTIRE PAGES OF TEXT IN THIS THING BECAUSE THE ARTIST KNOWS HE CAN'T DRAW. THERE ARE PAGES OF JUST RANDOM DRAWINGS IN HERE BECAUSE THE AUTHOR KNOWS HE CAN'T WRITE. THERE'S A PAGE WHERE BETTER ARTISTS EMBARASSINGLY (AND PROBABLY REGRETFULLY) DREW THIS ARTIST IN SUPER-QUICK, THERE-YOU-GO-KID-NOW-SCRAM COMIC CONVENTION STYLE! THERE ARE EVEN FIVE WHOLE PAGES OF PHOTOS OF THE ARTIST IN THIS THING. FIVE. WHOLE. FUCKING. PAGES. WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?????
How did this abortion get published? He was an intern with this comic company and apparently they thought he was owed a favor.
I'm now revising my overall rating of this creator's skills based on the quality of this book, and Sina Grace is now on my shit list of comic creators who wasted my time and my money with sub-par, retard-level product. This is the kind of immature dreck that killed independent comics in the mid 1980s and spilled over into the early 1990s, a glut of poor quality slop that the industry has not yet recovered from.
Mr. Grace goes so far as to include a preemptive excuse in the form of a quote in bold for why his book will be so poorly received: "There are a ton of wonderful queer creators, and I don't know how true this is, but my perception is that we're still being ghettoized" Oh, no no no you don't. You don't have the right to hide behind your sexual preferences when you put out trash like this product. The art sucks. The stories suck. The lack of coherence sucks. You, young man, need to take responsibility for your lack of artistic integrity. I purchased this comic MONTHS after I read Not My Bag. In that book you make it clear that you are gay or bi-. I didn't give a shit, didn't mention it once in my review, and I gave you a review that the material earned. Believe me, I'll be doing the same here with this comic.
Sina Grace, in your book you tell us how you have dreamed of being a comic creator since you were a little boy. This is your wakeup call: It's time to find a new dream. If you have the ability to be objective, as you look at the graphic novels around your home, you must realize that your lack of artistic skills places you very, very near the bottom of the books you have read over the years. Your delusion of comic greatness, or even competence, needs to end.
I know we're only four years into the 2010s, but I guess someone has to call it because it's inconceivable anything could be worse than this book: Self-Obsessed is the worst comic of the decade.
October 12, 2018
Was expecting a tell on how horrible the retail industry is. But came to expect something a little different. Was a story about a gentleman who learned that sometimes where we work can change us in monsters. Monsters that can wreck our livelihoods if not put into check. He shows how brutal a commission based work can be and how it almost ruined his life. One lesson which is saved till the end is the following:
"clothes, money fear ghosts, these are not things to rely on.... The only thing you can rely on is yourself."
"clothes, money fear ghosts, these are not things to rely on.... The only thing you can rely on is yourself."
October 20, 2017
A charming little autobiography of a desperate spell through the exhaustive world of luxury fashion retail. Does what great biographic fiction does in immersing you in a world you might be unfamiliar with and wrestles through the difficult lessons learned. Full of imaginative art flourishes that help embellish the highs and lows of the story told. Recommended.
April 4, 2024
Parts of this feel like it should be a story from earlier in the century, but then the next panel features a cash register that’s newer than some of the ones I worked on back when I worked retail seven years ago. WAY too wordy for a comic book and the blurb had me expecting something that this wasn’t.
January 2, 2023
I wanted more ghosts! Real ones not metaphorical. Really haunting story (pun intended) walked away feeling like Grace's life lessons had been imparted. Thanks, Grace, my nightmares needed more retail horror!
February 1, 2019
I wish I’d enjoyed this more as I like the artist’s style but essentially any story that is about the tedious work fall-outs of a retail job is going to be relatively tedious also.
April 7, 2019
Boring.
September 26, 2019
It started off as a promising read but got a bit boring in the middle. Had a hard time finishing it.
November 6, 2019
Unfortunately wasn't a huge fan of this comic by Sina Grace, but still very much a fan of him and his other work.
November 6, 2019
Yep retail really sucks you in.
I enjoyed this comic on my day off. And then fantasised about the purchases I’d like to make when I get paid next.
I enjoyed this comic on my day off. And then fantasised about the purchases I’d like to make when I get paid next.
March 9, 2020
Interesting look into a world I have nothing to do with.
June 28, 2020
New perspective
April 11, 2022
Just not my bag.
April 20, 2022
I really like the story but the start of it wasn’t great. It did let me down and have a more interesting blurb than what was inside. It was fine, I liked the art, I liked the journey he took.
January 31, 2024
text so small it was unreadable and also boring
December 3, 2024
Not bad, would like to read more.
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