The Last Lonely Saturday

by Jordan Crane

An older man sits at his kitchen table, filled with melancholy. Dishes are piled up in the sink, a full pot of coffee burns on the counter; it's a quiet scene of existential despair. The man is a widower, and today is the day to visit his departed wife's gravesite. Little does he know that what the day holds for him will result in this being his last lonely Saturday.

Both sweet and bitter, realistic and fantastic, The Last Lonely Saturday is an evocative, romantic novella told in a beautiful two-color, red and yellow palette. His economical images waste not a line, and his narrative flows effortlessly from panel to panel in this heartwarming story of love and love lost.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Death, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics, Romance

80 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2000

About the author

Jordan Crane is a cartoonist living in Los Angeles, CA with his wife and kids. Crane first emerged in 1996 with the iconic comics anthology NON, which he edited, designed, printed, contributed to, and published.

He has four graphic novels, The Last Lonely Saturday, Col-Dee, and The Clouds Above, and Keeping Two.

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short wordless comic that is bathed in melancholy and nostalgia; nostalgia, for cartoons and comics of the first half of the twentieth-century, and melancholy because it involves loss and grief. Just look at the sad sack cover. Maybe most romance involves melancholy--the long unrequited, the unspoken, the missed connections. Miss Lonelyhearts. Charlie Chaplin.

The title invites you to take the hope bait, as our heart warms for this lonely grieving man who puts flowers on the grave of his wife every week. Then things take a turn I will invite you to discover for yourself. It's a simple, ultimately unsurprising story, possibly a cliche for some, but I think more will find it moving, as Crane achieves his aims by stripping things down to simple, bare images, in a two-color format. I liked it very much.

[Matt Graupman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so short, so quiet, and so emotional, it's more like a poem than a comic. Jordan Crane has created a truly moving piece about love, death, and how they connect to one another. Take three or four minutes to read it and it'll bury itself into your heart.

[Alasondro Alegré · Rating 3 out of 5]

★★★½

[Salty Swift · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jordan Crane's The Last Lonely Saturday focuses on a retired man who continues to miss his dead wife terribly. When he pays a visit to her grave, his life will change in a way he never expected. Highly moving art.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic novel is so short, I can't really even talk about it without giving half the plot away. If Pixar ever wanted to make a truly grown-up short film, they could do worse than adapt this, especially since there is little-to-no dialogue. It would be a bit of a downer to play before a film, though.

[Maricela Garza · Rating 4 out of 5]

La historia transcurre durante la mañana de un sábado de agosto en que un hombre mayor va al cementerio a visitar la tumba de su esposa. No me agradó la forma en que se aborda el tema de la muerte, lo que sí me gustó –y mucho- son las ilustraciones, sobre todo las viñetas de las primeras páginas.

[Jenne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Agh, oh my god. So many conflicting feelings about such a tiny story.

[Alex Sarll]

Heartbreaking yet lovely in a way which reminded me of Up, and free to read online: http://whatthingsdo.com/comic/the-las...

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very short and very sweet little comic. Following this old man around town for a day as he relives moments of his youth. It's a very quick read, every page is basically two wordless panels strung together, but it evokes some strong feelings. I like the pages where one moment is the present, and one is the 'past', and you can see the difference in what our protagonist is doing versus what he's perceiving in his head.

[StrictlySequential · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second Printing

Memorably touching- an ovation of pure love and dedication!

Misleading length:
It has the most filler pages that I've ever seen (without a "notes" section) which cut the listed 80 down by seven front/back leaves before the story starts and four at the end. This is a VERY QUICK READ with about five words throughout it's entirety.

[Connor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of a let down. After reading the blurb, I expected this to be a story about an old widower moving on after grieving over his wife. Instead he just keels over and dies, so this was not what I expected. Short.

[Gwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and evocative. The book follows a lonely man as he prepares to and visits his wife's grave. Although there are few words in this book, the drawings convey the story and the feelings extremely well.

[H. Givens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thought it was more sad than sweet, but the design and art were really charming and different.

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very sweet.

[Natilin Alpaca Saurio · Rating 4 out of 5]

:0

[Julie Kirby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fantastic style, disappointing story.

[chrstphre campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

awfully short ( ? )

Should have been part of a collection ( ? )
Or an anthology ( ? )
Why do I need 4 more words ( ? )

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet, short story. Love the drawings.

[Bertha Villarreal · Rating 3 out of 5]

SHE KILLED HIM??!?

Why did he take her ALL his letters??

My emotions are all over at the moment.

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Touching and unexpected.

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, brutal, and worth ruining your day over.

[Drew Canole · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short silent book. Actually quite lovely. Maybe it won't stick with me for very long but its certainly worth a read.

[Al McCarty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful book.

[Emilia P · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can do better!
This was an old man loves his dead wife kind of story. I dunno -- I was gonna say "have you seen UP?" but this came out before Up so, oops. It's just like ....this story gets told over and over again, and this book didn't really bring any special twist to it, and also it was not particularly artistically interesting or complex for Crane (he does lots of great, way more emotional and fanciful stuff!) so, eh. It's fine, but he's done much better.

[else fine · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a testament to the simple sweetness and heartbreaking sadness of this book that I can't even look at the cover without starting to cry. Someone put it on display in the bookstore, and it actually hurts me to walk past it. That's a good read.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any graphic novel that can make me cry gets at least 4 stars. Add to the incredibly touching story line adorable art and letters, well... that's basically made for me. This very short graphic novel is touching, cute, and memorable.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jordan Crane autographed my copy of this book (mine's the softcover version) and drew a little flower next to my name. Swoon.

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

One word: lovely.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great example of how some ideas can be best conveyed without words. Kind of like Owly for grown-ups.

[Lo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Verges on icky-maudlin