Texas native, Cameron Arthur has been making comics since he was a teenager. Gradually – and meticulously – he has developed his craft, through six issues of his self-published, single-creator anthology series, Swag along with a variety of stand alone comics zines, as well as the occasional contribution to other publications. His diligence has led him to produce a substantial body of work – and develop his talent – to a degree that belies his youth.

Taking to heart some of the key approaches and primary guidelines undergirding the method of his comics mentor, Frank Santoro, Arthur builds his comics from the ground up. Employing gutterless panels laid out in a variety of tiered grids, each story’s layout is designed to both set the narrative pace and provide each aspect of the story with its proper weight.

The five tales collected here, demonstrate his skill, range and development...

Throughout the stories here, traditional family structures and gender roles largely – but not wholly – prevail, yet do so in arrangements that, while divided, are finely balanced within a congruence of equality. Men – who predominate – are the movers (yet, ironically, often heading in the wrong direction, going in circles or getting nowhere), women – often mothers – are the holders (sometimes passive, but more often decisive), and children – when they appear – are innocent catalysts of action (who mold the future through their presence). Despite the differences between roles, each is equally valued and an equal empathy is extended to all.

These narratives often feel pervaded by a sense of preordainment that can at times border on fatalism, and the characters in these tales bear the marks of lives emotionally flattened by the pressures of existence, yet each of them remains propelled forward by their own deliberate internal rhythm that moves to the beat inscribed within their beings.

These artfully constructed comics work to æstheticize tales of adventure and domesticity, effectively providing insights into the forms as they are employing them. Within the vast ocean of contemporary comics, they are indeed akin to hidden islands and are well worth making the journey to discover.