Same Difference and Other Stories
by Derek Kirk Kim

www.smallstoriesonline.com

BW, 154 pgs
$17.95 CAN / $12.00 US

Fans of Clowes, Tomine and Peepshow take heed
by Chad Boudreau

Derek Kirk Kim has made a name for himself with his Web comic. Web comics, these days, are a dime a dozen. Sometimes, however, you are lucky enough to find the gold coins amongst all the pennies.

I, unfortunately, can't claim to ever have found a gold coin. This is my way of saving I'd not heard of Derek Kirk Kim until I read he had been awarded a generous Xeric Foundation grant in order to collect and publish his Web comic, Small Stories. The predominant feature in this beautifully presented trade paperback is Kim's "Same Difference" serial. The book is then rounded out with the best selections of his shorter works on his Web site, www.smallstoriesonline.com.

I had included Same Difference and Other Stories on my one shot at the Small Press Hundreds of Pages of Huh column. I based the inclusion on my visit to his Web site after reading about the upcoming trade paperback release in Previews. What knocked me out at first glance was his art. His illustrated work is as good as any of the big names currently gracing the small press shelves. His illustrations, and then his writing, put three names into my mind; Daniel Clowes, Adrian Tomine and Joe Matt.

The tales of Oliver Pikk and his sloth pal are detailed in the latter pages of this trade paperback

"Same Difference" tells the tale of Simon and Nancy, two young people who find themselves well out of the days of adolescence, moving into the unknown territory of adulthood. They're hovering in the grey area that exists after we graduate, or drop out of, a post secondary education. They've left their hometowns, for bigger and, in their minds, better locations. Their childhood friends are scattered and their families are left behind. Luckily, however, they have a core of new friends, each struggling in their own way to make it through.

Any exploration of the self can become a tiresome act. We've all lived through, or are currently living through, this same period. We don't necessarily want to read about someone else's growing pains. Derek Kirk Kim understands this, and so he doesn't play Mr. Know It All with the reader. He doesn't say, look at my anguish and my confusion and how I came out on the other end. He has stated that most of "Same Difference" is based on real events, but the story doesn't feel like an autobiography. Yes, it's not in the first person, but shedding the autobiographical feel isn't that simple. What one has to do is present each character as a unique, distinct individual. The reader has to connect with each of the protagonists. We, then, approach the story as a whole, not a snippet of one individual's life.

Autobiographies are a tough sell. We each live a life, so what makes a life so special that it needs to be captured in a comic? Take, for instance, James Kochalka's daily comics journals. The strength of that comic is the very fact one can see his life is not exceptional, and yet he is able to make even the most mundane moments ring true through his simple illustrations. Joe Matt's autobiographies work because of his wit and his cartooning. "Same Difference" works because Derek Kirk Kim hides the autobiography behind heart and honesty.

Ever since she moved into a new apartment, Nancy has been receiving letters from a man named Ben Leland. They are addressed to a woman named Sarah but as the letters kept coming, curiosity got the best of Nancy and she started to open the letters. Not only that, but a little while later, she started to reply to the letters as "Sarah". Ben professes his love for Sarah in every letter. Her curiosity only escalates and she eventually asks Simon to join her on a road trip to sneak a peek at Ben Leland. "Don't you want to know what desperation of this magnitude looks like," she asks.

Simon agrees. This trip actually turns out to be an opportunity for him to visit his old hometown. Ben Leland, you see, lives in Pacifica where Simon grew up.

Simon isn't too impressed with Nancy's actions toward Ben Leland
Look at those great illustrations. Look at 'em!

Returning to your home town after you've been away for a few years is always a sobering experience. Places you used to know are now gone, replaced by the new and unfamiliar. Familiar faces are gone too, and those people you do remember are now no longer the people you once knew. They are grown up, married and with kids while you still struggle to find yourself a niche in the world. This is what Simon experiences and it's an honest portrayal of coming home.

Both Simon and Nancy will take one more step toward adulthood on this road trip. Nancy will come face to face with Ben Leland, and Simon will run into a blind woman named Irene, a person he once scorned in high school even though they were attracted to one another. You can't change the wrongs you did in the past. There is always time, however, to confront those wrongs in the present.

After "Same Difference", we are treated to the selected best from smallstories.com. The likes of "Hurdles", "Pulling" and "Super Unleaded" are vignettes of life. This is the kind of ambiguity and telling tales perfected by Adrian Tomine in his Optic Nerve comic. Derek Kirk Kim, however, does an equally fine job of exploration, both in writing and art.

His autobiographical stories "Valentine's Day", "My Sistine Chapel", "The Shaft" and "Ungrateful Appreciation" are honest and witty, the kind of stuff you expect to find at the end of Joe Matt's pen. "The Shaft" especially, with its cartoon images of God stuffing a broom handle up Kim's ass, could just have easily been found in Peepshow.

Also among these smaller works is the collected Oliver Pikk stories. Oliver is an olive on a toothpick, an odd, cute little piece of food that hangs out with a shirt wearing sloth. These little pieces of sequential art are irreverent and giggle worthy.

So, where does Daniel Clowes fit into all of this? If you're familiar with that man's work, then you already know. I'd compare "Same Difference" to his work. Comparing Kim's work to that of Daniel Clowes, Adrian Tomine and Joe Matt might seem to be a disservice to Kim. I'm certainly not saying Kim doesn't have a voice of his own because he most certainly does have his own voice and style. Clowes, Tomine and Matt have an established following for their printed comics, and so, I use the comparison in an effort to draw eyes to Kim's printed Same Difference and Other Stories. You might not know his name, but if you enjoy those other three creators, you definitely owe it to yourself to check him out.

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