Spores

by Joshua Barkman

A comic created by Joshua Barkman, originally posted as part of the webcomic False Knees in October 2022.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Bande Dessinée, Nature, Animals, Fiction, Birds

Paperback

Published January 1, 2023

Reviews

[Eleanor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable little graphic novelette by Joshua Barkman, also known as FalseKnees! I am always absolutely captivated by his work, managing to strike a perfect balance between hilarious and poignant, all with his gorgeous recognisable art style.

This little comic has been the brightest part of my day.

Dee dee dee!

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a Christmas present today—what a fun story! And the artwork is lovely.

[Bibliomaniaque · Rating 3 out of 5]

Illustrations simples, mais réalistes. J'ai aimé le style. En ce qui concerne l'histoire, j'aurais envie de dire "ok, juste ça?".

[Basia · Rating 5 out of 5]

So that’s what chickadees are always going on about! (Besides predators.) That they found a patch of mushrooms with the power to enable interspecies communication!

A delightfully offbeat, sweetly philosophical forest frolic.

[Ramona Cantaragiu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a huge fan of the art style, but the story is rather cute and the animals have quite strong personalities

[Alexandrea-Silver · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite of the Kneesvember stories 💛✨

[Karine Chevrier · Rating 4 out of 5]

BD un peu différente de ce que propose l'auteur dans ses autres livres. Déjà, les animaux ne se limitent pas qu'aux oiseaux (et ça sert très bien l'histoire). Lecture légère et adorable, qui véhicule une belle morale et des bonnes valeurs. On y retrouve moins l'humour qui caractérise "Prise de bec", mais je suis personnellement un bon public pour les deux ! Cette BD vise un plus large public et conviendra mieux aux jeunes. Très accessible et, comme toujours, les dessins sont très beaux !

[Ailsa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another gorgeous comic from False Knees. I recently bought all of their long form comics in print, and Spores must have been the one I was most interested to read. Mushrooms! Different creatures in the forest! It didn't disappoint. The shenanigans and the different conversations that happened as a result of those little red mushrooms were fantastic. I loved the jokes, but there's also an excellent balance between light-hearted banter and deeply emotional moments of connection, like the owl and the moose. I'm also so impressed with the use of colour in all of the False Knees comics - that this one is all black and white other than the red mushrooms is so striking, and I really enjoyed it. A fantastic little read, one that I think I'll revisit regularly, or whenever I need a pick-me-up.

[Norman Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

2023 Eisner Award finalist - Best Webcomic

This little paperback reprints a cute story originally published on Barkman's website, falseknees.com. A meteorite crashes into a forest, leaving a trail of alien mushrooms in its wake. What happens when the animal denizens of the forest eat these spores makes for an interesting meditation on ecology, communication, and the unity of life. Barkman's artwork is clear and accurate--he has clearly spent a lot of time practicing wildlife drawings. The use of red highlights for the spores is a nice artistic touch.

[Rohan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had been following False Knees for a while and was excited when October 2022 came around - another Falsetober long comic! Spores lived up to my anticipation. It's weird, cute, funny and solemn. All very characteristic of his style. As with a lot of False Knees comics, the underlying messages are heartwarming and very humanistic. I'm glad I ordered a physical copy of this beautiful little story, and I'm looking forward to this year's Falsetober Kneesvember with excitement.

[Felix · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been a long time fan of False Knees (but only just learned the author is from Montreal, how awesome is that). So I may be a little bit biased, but honestly it's such a whimsical and fun story that it's hard to not be charmed.

It's a quick read with beautiful illustrations and great use of B&W with spot color, it gets a strong recommendation from me

[Michael Rudzki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joshua Barkman is the comic artist behind False Knees, easily one of my favorite comics ever. This is his second self-published comic, which he drew one panel a day during October 2022.

It's wonderful and funny and beautiful. You should buy a copy from him amd help support him making more.

[Maaike van Stratum · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is just such a lovely little book. Funny and sweet and a little bit melancholic, just beautiful.

[Skyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

9.25/10.

[Tom Troutman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poignant, funny, & beautiful to look at.

[Gauthier Striebel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, though provoking, lovely !
I love this comic !

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always I love Joshua Barkman's drawings and stories :)

[niv · Rating 5 out of 5]

got this signed at the mtl comic arts festival with my name misspelled lmao but i love it nonetheless

[Jesse Holden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Immaculate as everything Barkman does

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely delightful forest wander. Cute and unexpected! I love it!

[Ive · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations and a short heart-warming story about interconnectedness and the beauty of nature.

[Seán · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this for my partner's birthday and read it for her at bedtime. Both of us absolutely loved it, especially the final two panels. It has buckets of charm and looks beautiful!

[Luana · Rating 5 out of 5]

First contact tale with neither species being human. Utterly transcendent storytelling. Made me think of Eisner's "Life on Another Planet" for the woodland realm.

[Noemi · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good

[Veronica Molina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simpático, muy recomendable.

[Cheyenne Antell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Witty, thoughtful, and kind. I like the quiet forest that the author portrays here.

[Adam Sequoyah · Rating 5 out of 5]

MPA ratings: G

[Richard Tremblay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une jolie fable qui se termine un peu mal.

[Malorie · Rating 5 out of 5]

awwwwwwwww cuteeeeeee :)))))

Awwwwwwwwww

[Sheila Arellano · Rating 4 out of 5]

An adorable little comic with an important underlying theme, would recommend this quick read!