Unlike the classic 32-page floppy comic arcs, in which the reader harbors an expectation that a chapter or story concludes between two covers with obvious transitions, each of Davis’ stories exists in a void. While enmeshed in this reading experience, you have no idea how long it will last or where it’s going. There’s no table of contents to guide the way nor story breaks to delineate chapters, save the shifting visual styles. How to Be Happy, Eleanor Davis’ first collection of her shorter work (she’s also published two books for younger readers, Stinky and The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook, in addition to some artist gigs), serves as both an illustration of that principle and a portfolio of what she can do. To break the rules and still succeed, you have to know them well enough to quote them without even thinking about it.
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