Mike Dawson’s Troop 142

I've been meaning to read Mike Dawson's Troop 142 for a while.  I've known about it for a while, but never sat down and took it in.  Well, today I started reading, and couldn't stop.  Mike's graphic novel is being posted as it's being completed page by page on his website.  That means you can go and read the thing, absolutely free. 

You might know Mike from Freddie and Me, a previous Book of the Month, or even from the Ink Panthers Podcast with Alex Robinson, on which I have occasionally appeared.

Troop 142 is the story of a group of boys in 1995 at camp for one week.  When the week is over, the book is over.  It's not for kids, because anyone who was a teenage boy knows, they're mean, dirty mouthed little savages who will find the weakest member of their group, and pounce on him, lest they too be pounced upon.  This story captures that perfectly, and is one more example of the fact that there should always be more slice of life comics out there, because contrary to popular belief, comics are a great place to tell those kinds of stories. The book is completed through a good part of Thursday, but that still leaves you plenty to read before you catch up.

The pages below are just a sample of some of the stuff in the story. Check out the beautiful work he did on the camp at night scene in the first one.