Crenshaw's Books & Decks

Queen's Day was released in 1999, published after being listed in the September selection of the Xeric Foundation's comic awards. I have read it in Kindle format, as it has been released in electronic format this year by Alternative Comics.

This is more a booklet than a book, with just 69 pages. It contains three separate unconnected stories, some of Corman's early works, and as such they have to be appreciated. 

The stories are  drawn in a glorious black and white, with a predominance of a bright black and greys over white. The style is very expressionist (the cover really doesn't reflect the style of the comic), with angular characters. The texts are reduced to a minimum.

In "The Baba Yaga". An old Russian "witch" rescues a little girl that has fallen asleep in a freezing cold river. In "The Myth of Never Being Sick a Day in Your Life", a young lady visits her grandma and the mountain area where her brother lost her life. In  "Koninginnendag", a girl living in Holland is cheered up by a friend.
Despite the sobriety and brevity of the whole, the stories are engaging. There is something non-explicit that gives them a melancholic mysterious tone and blends them together, especially the first two. The elements that I personally see commonly reflected in all them are:
> gloominess.
> The forest, the mountain, and the power of Nature.
>  Ascension.
>  Support and care.

If you love rare non-mainstream comics, this is one of those.