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New Construction: Two More Stories
L.A. Times Book Prizes Finalist (Graphic Novel/Comics) 2016 A collection of two new stories from cartoonist and Adventure Time contributor Sam Alden. In "Household," a brother and sister deal with divergent memories of their father and grow closer than ever. In "Backyard," vegans and anarchists share a house, small dramas and bizarre transformations (featuring a new, never before published ending). Designed as a companion volume for the critically acclaimed It Never Happened Again , New Construction cements Sam Alden's reputation as one of the best cartoonists of his generation. Sam Alden Sam Alden is the author of It Never Happened Again , Wicked Chicken Queen , and Lydian , among others. He is a two-time Ignatz winner and four-time nominee, and works full-time as a writer and storyboarder on Cartoon Network's Adventure Time . Praise for Sam Alden's It Never Happened Again : "Alden's natural sense of framing and pace, his willingness to use silent panels to tell stories, and his beautiful (yes, beautiful) pencil images combined to open my eyes to a new idea of what a great comic can be. It helps that he's also an excellent writer—both stories sketch out lonely, lost characters efficiently, and put them each through very different quests for meaning."—Dan Kois, Slate "Two thematically divergent, but devastatingly human portraits from an emerging cartoonist displaying the sort of storytelling and artistic restraint that often only comes after years of toiling away at the drawing board. Alden is a talent to watch."— Publishers Weekly
208 pages, Paperback
First published November 17, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
August 21, 2016
I can study Sam Alden's comics for hours: the looseness of his pencils, the play of shadow and light, the jumpy disrupted narrative sequencing - there's a lot that's new going on here and I can feel my mind stretching every time I read him.
Also, these are two of the darkest, most disturbing comics stories I've read in a while.
Also, these are two of the darkest, most disturbing comics stories I've read in a while.
January 21, 2016
Odd haunting stories of two people adrift in beautifully raw pencil sketchlines.
October 24, 2016
While I didn't enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed It Never Happened Again: Two Stories, I was impressed by the depth of story he was able to convey so quickly and efficiently. Alden's strength lies in his economic drawings and storytelling.
"Backyard"
This is an odd story that hit the edge of satire for me just in the way he illustrated this communal living situation. It's already bizarre, with Molly living outside as an animal while the others are argue about how to handle her. But it overcomes what feels like judgment from its author by returning to the very human emotions at the center of it. All that said, this story is probably the most illustrated out of the two books. The environment plays a much bigger role in the story and he expresses the flora against the house in aggressive strokes. These details add well to the strain of the plot.
"Household"
Oh geez was this one a doozy. It deals with a brother who comes to live with his sister and learns that they have different memories of their father. The way it tackles family and loneliness is interesting, but could push most readers away. I had to read it a couple of times just to make sure I was seeing and reading it correctly. What was happening was easily interpreted, but it was the sort of shock that you have to doublecheck just to see if your eyes are deceiving you. I felt this story returned to more of his bare bones frames, making obvious choices when to fill the frame with marks and signifiers.
"Backyard"
This is an odd story that hit the edge of satire for me just in the way he illustrated this communal living situation. It's already bizarre, with Molly living outside as an animal while the others are argue about how to handle her. But it overcomes what feels like judgment from its author by returning to the very human emotions at the center of it. All that said, this story is probably the most illustrated out of the two books. The environment plays a much bigger role in the story and he expresses the flora against the house in aggressive strokes. These details add well to the strain of the plot.
"Household"
Oh geez was this one a doozy. It deals with a brother who comes to live with his sister and learns that they have different memories of their father. The way it tackles family and loneliness is interesting, but could push most readers away. I had to read it a couple of times just to make sure I was seeing and reading it correctly. What was happening was easily interpreted, but it was the sort of shock that you have to doublecheck just to see if your eyes are deceiving you. I felt this story returned to more of his bare bones frames, making obvious choices when to fill the frame with marks and signifiers.
May 25, 2016
As an art form, comics are relatively young, especially when compared to fields such as writing or painting. Comic artists are still trying to figure out the limitations of the medium, pushing boundaries, and experimenting with tone, plot, style, and other elements. So, I guess it shouldn't be a surprise when a creator does something original but, goddamn, Sam Alden is just on a whole different level right now.
"New Construction," Alden's latest book, follows the same format as his previous work, "It Never Happened Again," featuring two stories, drawn in lush pencils, about characters on the fringe of society (one being a commune-style house with a feral roommate and the other about a dysfunctional brother and sister who get way too comfortable with one another). Alden has a master's command of perspective and detail (his art is almost too good, too focused, without any extraneous marks; nothing is wasted) but the real revelation here is his storytelling; his plots are fractured and disorientating, but ultimately satisfying. There's no denying that he's an incredible artistic talent, but his recent writing shows a remarkable confidence.
Sam Alden's comics, like the medium as a whole, are still growing. Nevertheless, as comics continue to evolve and challenge expectations, Alden will undoubtedly be at the forefront. Need proof? Exhibit A: "New Construction."
"New Construction," Alden's latest book, follows the same format as his previous work, "It Never Happened Again," featuring two stories, drawn in lush pencils, about characters on the fringe of society (one being a commune-style house with a feral roommate and the other about a dysfunctional brother and sister who get way too comfortable with one another). Alden has a master's command of perspective and detail (his art is almost too good, too focused, without any extraneous marks; nothing is wasted) but the real revelation here is his storytelling; his plots are fractured and disorientating, but ultimately satisfying. There's no denying that he's an incredible artistic talent, but his recent writing shows a remarkable confidence.
Sam Alden's comics, like the medium as a whole, are still growing. Nevertheless, as comics continue to evolve and challenge expectations, Alden will undoubtedly be at the forefront. Need proof? Exhibit A: "New Construction."
July 27, 2016
Very atmospheric. These stories jump from scene to scene with no warning or transition (sometimes multiple times on a single page), so it takes a bit of work on the reader's part to understand what's happening. Some of my favorite books are challenging (like "The Sound and The Fury"), so this was not a deficit but rather an asset for me. The characters and their interactions are extremely compelling. No exposition is used, so the reader must use fragmented dialogue to suss out the situations.
The pencil drawings are just so gorgeous. Especially his rendering of light and shadow.
The pencil drawings are just so gorgeous. Especially his rendering of light and shadow.
January 22, 2016
Sam Alden is one of the most interesting comic artists I've discovered in the last year or so, writing introspective, realistic accounts of young people drifting through life, with some hints of the bizarre intruding into the everyday. Alden's intense pencilled line work is amazing at evoking his moody, languid stories and instilling in them a sense of detachment that reflects the emotions of the characters. The dialogue in particular is so naturalistic it feels like things people actually say.
The two stories collected in this slim, quickly devoured volume are both set among the New Orleans punk scene, and both begin and end abruptly like so many slices of life. Each deal with some pretty disturbing elements but are presented without comment, allowing the readers to take their own
The two stories collected in this slim, quickly devoured volume are both set among the New Orleans punk scene, and both begin and end abruptly like so many slices of life. Each deal with some pretty disturbing elements but are presented without comment, allowing the readers to take their own
September 1, 2024
2.5 ⭐️ While I really enjoyed the illustrations, these stories were just not for me. Didn’t understand the endings in either, though I managed to follow along the rest of the time despite jumping back and forth between times / locations / characters.
November 13, 2015
Pitch perfect. There are no extraneous panels or bits of dialogue. Masterfully execute with raw, rugged art.
December 11, 2015
Sam Alden has blown my mind again. Holy moly.
Read
November 5, 2021That second story.... Wow....
June 18, 2021
Alden’s painterly way of using a pencil feels so deeply unique and like he actually found a new way to make pencil and paper intriguing and fresh. His stories are expertly lifted by and lift the media he uses as well. They’re so idiosyncratic and yet relatable in that way that makes a movie like Moonlight universal. The abstractions of his drawings aren’t simply minimal or weird but just emphasizing things that aren’t normally drawn this way. An ear might get fantastic detail, or a gesture is accentuated because the figure has suddenly become an outline, and he always pays meticulous attention to any and all shadows. He never met a shadow he didn’t want to render with exquisite detail. This extends to his storytelling as well. Withholding information and doling it out in a sideways manner, allows the reader to feel like they’re getting to know the characters as opposed to being told about the characters.
These are two pretty potent stories about living with mental illness in communities that aren’t equipped to support a person who can be destructive. They are both unexpectedly tense and sobering but also tinged with a sluggish hope. It’s just hard to say who will benefit from the sense of hope in the end.
These are two pretty potent stories about living with mental illness in communities that aren’t equipped to support a person who can be destructive. They are both unexpectedly tense and sobering but also tinged with a sluggish hope. It’s just hard to say who will benefit from the sense of hope in the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 23, 2017
I loved Wicked Chicken Queen ( Retrofit/ Big Planet) and I have been slowly amassing and reading a collection of Uncivilized Books, so New Construction was a natural fit for me. Alden, a 2 time Ignatz Award winner, impressed me with his pencils. A combination of shading, line work, depth, intensity and detail to create skillfully developed art. The stories ( there are 2) explored the complexities of interpersonal relations between roommates ("Backyard"") and siblings("Household").
April 13, 2024
Fucking fantastic cartooning. Backyard in particular is one of my favourite short comics ever I think. The gestures and spaces feel so intimate and real and Alden is such a master of implication and subtext- things are rarely explicitly addressed but talked around, moved around. I love the sequence close to the end of Household that cuts between three or four different scenes to create an emotional whole. Christ.
January 4, 2018
Sam Alden is undoubtedly one of the greatest comics artists currently working
November 24, 2020
The second story in this is just...wow. Lost for words. An immediate all time favourite for me.
April 11, 2021
The rawness of the art is really powerful but I'm not as into post-modern fiction as I used to be.
September 8, 2016
Still in the process of re-reading it, as this is for a bookclub next week and I've been taking notes. Really an interesting and enjoyable read. The experimental nature of the book itself could probably put off some people but honestly it's nothing too crazy; the second time I read it, I realized how normal the story lines actually are, how smooth the narrative goes, only occasionally breaking some traditional narrative rules. I love that I have this book and can go back to reread it at any time; its simplicity is deceiving, and definitely rewards close inspection. Also interested to find Alden's first set of stories.
April 24, 2016
3.5. Alden's rough pencil style with visible eraser marks, especially showing edits to speech balloons, is very charming. The stories are loose and slightly surreal. The second story, "Household," is rougher, more unpolished in style than the first, "Backyard." It still narrates its story compellingly, but I sometimes wish Alden would treat the art here as pencils, and would go back to finish the work by inking it.
February 9, 2016
Not my favorite art, but the stories were amazing (if also disturbing).
March 22, 2016
saaaaaaaaaaam!!!!!!!!! j_j
December 28, 2016
White boy problems :') xx all my miseries~~
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews