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Written by Gabe Bullard Thursday, 29 November 2007 17:00

Nightmares and reality collide in the latest installment of Sarah Becan's dream-centric minicomics series.

44 pages B&W; $4

(W / A: Sarah Becan)

Record stores are typically more prominent than comic book shops, and, often times, independent music retailers are great places to get small press comics: comics like Sarah Becan's Shuteye series. Granted, issue #4 is about a record store clerk, and it is made by Midwest-based minicomics collective Short Pants Press, but regardless, it just feels like the type of comic someone might buy out of curiosity, but then get really into.

First of all, while it doesn't seem cheap, this book does feel like it was made on a budget, and that's a good thing. The cover looks and feels handmade and the pages seem like they were freshly printed, stapled, and put on the shelf. The art on those pages isn't super-slick, but it's good. The appealing drawings are frequently cute and they always get the point across.

So with hands and eyes won over with authenticity, all that's left is the heart, and this book has plenty of that.

The Shuteye series explores dreams and follows characters in those dreams. In this fourth installment, record-retail entrepreneur J.P. is plagued by a nightmare that just might be coming true. The incubus takes the form of a vaguely Cajun customer who turns from a friendly blues fan and generous tipper into an ever-present sign of suffering and dementia.

It's heavy stuff for J.P. to handle, and the story is a wholly original and interesting take on comic-book horror. Overall this book is a dark but seemingly innocuous comic that's poised to win fans, especially from the DIY crowd. | Gabe Bullard

Click the thumbnails below for a 2-page preview of Shuteye #4: Carrefour. To purchase the book, check out your local comic shop, or visit the Short Pants Press store!