The Short Term
by Nick Jeffrey
Floppy Comix

A dark journey
by Chad Boudreau

The Short Term is a more recent creation from Nick Jeffrey. Self-published in 2006, it's a psychologically dark journey into the life of Rick, a drug addict and alcoholic that tries to kick both habits so he can donate part of his liver to save the life of his dying mother. He is haunted by a lost love, Jamie. He thinks of her often, and those thoughts become a narration that plays throughout the story. I get the impression his problems caused their relationship to fall apart. The narration claims he has changed, but we see no sign of that. He claims he is in control of his life and his addictions, but neither is true. The addictions control him and he has no life of which to speak.

Rick focuses too much attention on the anguish he feels over the loss of Jamie, and not enough time trying to get straight so he can truly be a help to his dying mother and emotionally suffering dad. Rick's decision to donate part of his liver is a spontaneous one, with little consideration given to the potential ramifications to his own health, and even less given to the fact that his years of drugging and drinking make him a less than ideal donor. When confronted with the poor state of his own liver, Rick lapses into a fantasy about Jamie. We next see him seated at bar, drinking heavily. He does eventually put the bottle aside, but then ups his usage of hard drugs.

The artwork is as ugly as this story's characters, with big heads, angular features, dirty locales and very few smiles to be found. The ones we do see are drug induced and do not reach the eyes.

The Short Term offers no salvation. This is not a tale of redemption. It's a dark trip, but one worth taking if you enjoy a challenging sequential storytelling experience.

3.5 of 5