Argentinian cartoonist Liniers returns with his third Fantagraphics collection of his ongoing comic strip, Macanudo. As always, the full-color strip features a cast of recurring characters, but also remains so freely unstructured that Liniers can tackle whatever subject strikes his fancy. He’s also gleefully unconventional with his strip layouts, eschewing strict three- or four-panel grids for gags that take up whatever space and configuration they need, from unbordered single panels to eight panels or more. Regular readers generally know what to expect, but Liniers continues to innovate and surprise.
Buy Macanudo: The Way of the Penguin hardcoverThe title of the new collection references the last strip in the book, as his recurring penguin character prepares to go on a grand adventure while bidding farewell to a friend. Although the penguin appears throughout the book, it’s in no way a penguin-centric volume. In fact, the recurring little girl character, Henrietta, and her faithful cat, Fellini, seem to have the most page space, delivering their pastoral ruminations on the blessings of a simple life outdoors. They bring to mind the breezy camaraderie of Calvin & Hobbes, with the characters at their happiest when doing the least outside, reading under a tree and appreciating nature in a totally blissful state.
Liniers’ one-off gags elicit the biggest laughs, with his unique way of looking at situations from a different angle generating some of the best results. In one strip, he imagines Hansel and Gretel from the perspective of looming creepy crawlies following behind them thanks to their handy trail of breadcrumbs. In another, he gets inside the mind of early photography pioneer Louis Daguerre as he tires of portrait and architecture shots and takes the first selfie, complete with two fingers raised.
In a strip titled “The Macanudorian”, he manages to reference both The Mandalorian and Scarface, with Mando posing with his gun and quoting the “say hello to my little friend” line before revealing a waving Grogu. He spoofs a few other IPs throughout the book, leaning hard on the “parody is fair use” statute for avoiding copyright infringement.
I probably got the biggest laugh at his take on Waiting for Godot, already about the most left-field source material he could land on for a strip. It’s a simple setup, with the two stars sitting on their rock waiting for Godot…until Godot appears in the next panel with a cheery “Hi guys!”, generating an existential crisis as they struggle with their next move.
Since there’s no ongoing continuity, readers can pick up this volume with no knowledge of the prior releases. It’s helpful to know the recurring players, but newbies can quickly catch on to their motivations. There’s a sweetness to many of the strips, especially the Henrietta and Fellini ones, with Liniers exhibiting an earnest and optimistic worldview so welcoming that his superb gags are just the cherry on top.
