Justin Gradin’s sophomore graphic novel combines keen verbal and visual wit with a host of memorable characters to create an anarchic, absurdist comedy about lonely souls and the lonely soulless. Ponce Melee is a lonely clock-puncher working for Twin Labs in the cloning dept. When he uses a strand of hair to clone a companion; it’s successful, but she immediately leaves him for greener pastures. So, he clones another potential companion. And that one leaves. And again. And again. Soon, multiple clones begin causing confusion and havoc around town. Meanwhile, one of the errant clones makes a pact with the devil that goes awry and strands Satan in town, forcing him to get a job. Justin Gradin’s sophomore graphic novel (after 2023’s Mystic Debris) combines keen verbal and visual wit with a host of memorable characters — Mandrake the Soda Jerk, private investigator Butterfly Latté, pop superstar Attilla the Hunny, and many more—to create an anarchic, absurdist comedy about lonely souls and the lonely soulless. Gradin’s work has echoes of Gary Panter, Gary Leib, Marc Bell, and Mark Beyer (and even some other cartoonists who may or may not be named Gary or Mark) while remaining a singular, sui generis voice in contemporary comics.
