Greenblatt the Great

Greenblatt the Great! By Michael Aushenker 52 pages, magazine size, $5.00, chipmunksandsquirrels@yahoo.com www.cartoonflophouse.com

Greenblatt the Great! is a bellboy at the Rondovian Hotel. In this wonderfully absurd comic by Michael Aushenker, we follow Greenblatt in his daily dealings with such characters as big-headed drunk Mr Genesee; mysterious crane-fearing and lobster-collecting Van Dyke, who insists Greenblatt's imaginary schnauzer Shem is his own long-lost dog Somerset; gym-junkie Maurice who develops a big crush on Greenblatt; and many others, and as great and unique as these characters are, the best part is the way they behave and interact with one another, and details expanding and mutating from one strip to the next (these are all one- and two-page strips). In 'Greenblatt Takes in an Old Flick', our hero visits a movie house to watch an old movie, The Matadors, then in later strips now and then we see the facade of the cinema advertising this movie. Is it the only movie playing in the town? Yes, probably! In another strip, 'Greenblatt the Great's Journey Into Fear' each panel reveals the private fears of Mr Genesee, The Flower Peddler, Mr Vulva (Grenblatt's boss), Mr Sweet (the hotel owner), Mrs Beachfront, Van Dyke, Greenblatt's imaginary schnauzer Shem, and Greenblatt himself! Then about sixteen strips later, we get Mr Vulva's nightmare come to life! My personal favourite though is Greenblatt's 'Typical Weekend'. As you read strip after strip, this world expands and develops in the most wonderful and absurd ways, it's impossible to stop reading.