SEAN THE STICK -- Story by Kevin Sampsell, Art by Emma Jon-Michael Frank

I read SEAN THE STICK while having a glass of wine. After I finished the book, I immediately had another glass of wine.

Words that came to mind during that second glass -- about the book -- Enigmantic. Poignant. Lonely.

And I'm particularly troubled, and puzzled, about this part: After Sean lost his only two leaves, how come all the illustrations still show Sean with one leaf? And what lovely illustrations they are too -- all the illustrations in the book are lovely. The illustrations are by Emma Jon-Michael Frank and are sweet, gentle, deceptively complex in their directness yet subtlety.

I found this book to be a puzzling, unsettling book -- whimsical, light, dark, cognitively dissonant.

Like a puff of air with a hint of tree-bark muskiness, the smell is a sweet smell, but kind of acrid too, with an aura that has a strangely soothing yet troubling affect on the little hairs that poke out of my nostrils. (Well some things just kinda defy ready description don't they.)

Anyhow! This book has an almost-palpable texture that lingers after reading -- but I just can't put my finger on what that texture is. Elusive. Seductive.

Kinda like an abstract painting that you like, but you're not sure why. It just feels right.

When I finished reading the book, I felt that I'd encountered something that is beautiful -- and enigmatic, and poignant, and lonely too. That feeling persists.  

SEAN THE STICK by Kevin Sampsell and Emma Jon-Michael Frank reads fast, then lingers a long time.

Glad I read it. I think you'd be glad that you read it too.

--Carl Miller Daniels


Note: Here's the link to the Amazon listing. It's available in both hardback and paperback. I got the paperback--
 
https://www.amazon.com/Sean-Stick-Kevin-Sampsell/dp/1892061988/ref=sr_1_1?crid=F8TAR7SJJWJZ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.u6veYcT6WNTgMW3XmpZrmcBw2NezNJeJgSeW08XQ4ZMfq-ylX0ywQ6MBg7yR8iTPBWWedQMxZm9U9yClWs8BZOws4k9iFpxZhWhTgzZK9NvK8Vny8WEv89HEqL2jEjUQs2LWhgr3AjwQBGObqGMGFLZ4ua2o5PyVC7qTbW3MutLNORpH5dvDyq6HGBp74ZecYyksfwhBYWJCqs0_ot3YIkjU2jR7vGehylyabNO3yYg.TISxyAiSA2CkiuMsU0uBmhzBZOXovqoJngbvxH0vXIA&dib_tag=se&keywords=Kevin+Sampsell&qid=1733221150&s=books&sprefix=kevin+sampsell%2Cstripbooks%2C79&sr=1-1