 To those who attended the minicon in Juneau, Alaska in 2016 between the hours of about
12-1:00 pm, YOU MAY HAVE RECEIVED FALSE INFORMATION! I AM NOT DYLAN MECONIS! I had the pleasure to meet her during this minicon (and the comics camp afterwards) and sat in for her booth for a bit during lunch. That's it. She's not me. So be assured that I am not self promoting when I say that Dylan Meconis' web-and-print comic Family Man is an excellent comic that you should read. Family man entails the story of a theologian scholar, Luther, in the 1800's who has lost his faith, though not his love of lecturing and learning. He is invited to teach at a university in a small town with a family of natives who harbor a dark secret. This family and Luther mix and stuff starts to go down. Here are some of the reasons that you should check out Family Man, and I'm frankly sad that you haven't already 1. Intelligence. At first glance, the beginning few chapters of Family Man read a little slowly. There's talk of theology and theorems and such. Going back, this is executed very well. The dialogue is fascinating and clearly well researched, but not heavy. Luther is depicted as an intellectual, but still humble, man. In a world where so many comics turn to slapstick, recycled characters, and selling-it-with-sex, it's nice to see university disciplines incorporated so well, without seeming heavy handed or preachy. 2. The Story. I don't want to give much away, but the story develops marvelously. There's enough allusion to future elements that they don't seem to come out of nowhere, but are still a surprise. There're traditional family conflicts mixed in with less traditional settings. Like the local village cult. 3. Faith. This may seem like a weird thing to point out, but the frank treatment of faith and religious lore is kind of refreshing. The protagonist is no longer Christian, but that doesn't mean the comic just dumps all over religion. There's the constant underlying theme of religion and irreligion that would have been on the forefront of everyone's mind in that period. Christians, Jews, Atheists, and Pagans alike all have their life-views and none are presented as the best, worst, correct, incorrect, or as total wads. Dylan Meconis is also behind Bite Me, Several Short Stories and is currently working on a new graphic novel as well. Check out her stuff, already!
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