Rice Boy by Evan Dahm

            Rice Boy was my introduction to the idea of webcomics being episodic: that they could weave intricate little stories into a larger whole, instead of just being day-by-day or week-to-week gags like one would find in the Sunday paper.  Probably one of the most surreal graphic works I’ve ever encountered (aside from works like Bone, who’s influence is easily evidenced), Rice Boy has also proven to be one of the most interesting as Evan continues exploring the world of Overside in his other works.  However, among the collection of stories from Overside thus far, Rice Boy is still my favorite, from the memorable characters to the careful pacing from panel to panel.

            Rice Boy is not for the impatient reader wanting to speed through a story, and that’s among the many things that makes it so good: you learn what you need to learn as necessary, and a good chunk of the rest of the comic consists of fantastic world and character building, which is especially interesting when it comes to long-lived characters like T-O-E and Golgo/Angel Eye.  The character development of the titular Rice Boy and T-O-E in particular have a number of curious, intentional parallels that line up in a fascinating way towards the end of the story for a nice twist.

            Due to the length of time it took to make Rice Boy, watching the evolutionary process of Evan’s ink work and paneling is also interesting (especially when laid down next to Order of Tales, the prequel-of-sorts Evan worked on following Rice Boy’s completion).  Although it’s slightly heavy-handed at times towards the beginning, the level of growth seen between the first page and the last is pleasantly surprising, and has actually made Evan one of my favorite ink artists because of it.  Rice Boy is a comic that needs more attention and appreciation (for the story, its art, and the depth of the world(s) it takes place in), and I hope one day it receives the recognition it deserves.  The library recently added the softcover edition to the collection, so I’m hoping curious students and patrons will pick it up and come to love Rice Boy as much as I have.

People should take Huff's advice and follow him over to read Rice Boy.