Book Review: What We Mean By Yesterday, Vol. 1 by Benjamin Marra

Fantagraphics continues its streak of high-quality graphic art for adult audiences with What We Mean By Yesterday, Vol. 1 by Benjamin Marra. Born out of Marra’s quest to practice a more carefree artistic style that is faster and looser, the comic began on Instagram with one page of the cartoon posted each day. And the art is fast and loose with a familiar style reminiscent of classic MAD Magazine. The graphic novel concerns itself mostly with a series of bad trips experienced by a very manly teacher named Bruce Barnes.

We are introduced to Bruce (who has a striking resemblance to 1970s-era David Letterman) as he attempts to teach an unteachable high school class filled with jocks, dorks, goths, and bullies. Between classes, Bruce takes a couple giant hits off a laced cigarette from a colleague and begins a strange and wondrous trip. He leaves to go to the corner store to get an XXL drink and a pack of smokes. An emo kid, possibly the actual Death incarnate, gives Bruce an unsolicited $300 and is a, so far, confusing recurring character.

Then, back on the road, Bruce gets into a fight with an off-duty police officer. His car window is broken and he is covered in “Slurpee”. Bruce goes to a bar and gets into a fight where he unexpectedly kicks everybody’s ass, meets a kid who has a limo service, and goes home with the hot bar chick. Back at her place, Bruce meets the woman’s lenient husband, and takes a new drug called “Animal Crackers” that is injected via blow dart to the ass cheek.

This is a graphic novel that could easily find itself courting high school drug porn. After all, the main concern of the book is drugs and their effect on Bruce throughout the day and his seemingly endless ability to stumble upon more drugs. But, instead, there is enough characterization that the reader is made to care about Bruce’s slide into the rabbit hole, and more than enough antagonists to keep the story flowing nicely from page to page. Read it, and start looking forward to What We Mean By Yesterday, Vol. 2.