Alternative Comics is proud to present Grickle, by the brilliant and charismatic award-winning Canadian-born animator Graham Annable (Coraline). Grickle collects two dozen beautiful stories in which devilish comedy and eye-watering art enclose a rich, chocolatey center of sad poetry and bruised but intact innocence.

Annable has been creating these stories for his own satisfaction concurrent with his commercial animation work, and it shows in their intimate, conversational tone and wholly personal outlook. The skills honed at his day job are just as evident in the deft, fluid way he puts his stylish figures through their paces — it’s like listening to the eloquent solo improvisations of a jazz musician who has sharpened his chops playing every night in the band. Even several panels of an Annable character just sitting still at a table practically glitter with life and cartoon joy.

A man is carried safely through the ugly harshness of the world by his own Polaroid-enabled brand of narcissism. The sadistic make-believe of two little boys is no match for the laid-back cruelty of their grandfather. Two buddies go on an ice fishing trip. One finds enlightenment, but the other catches a whole hell of a lot of fish. A factory drone discovers his creative side with the help of the toilet. Vehicular manslaughter turns to be pretty okay as long as there aren’t any witnesses. Sound interesting? Wait till you see them come to life in vivid black-and-white! Grickle is a hefty treasure trove of visually arresting, hilarious, wise, and emotionally rereadable cartoon stories.