2. Joe MattPeepshow
I wish Joe Matt would be more prolific, because Peepshow is one of the most entertaining comics. It’s a really big influence on my songwriting actually. It was from Peepshow that I originally got the idea in the ’90s that, now matter how lousy your life was, if you used that as fodder, you could make art out of your petty romantic tragedies and seeing yourself as a loser. I think Joe Matt just does this so hilariously. I love his style of drawing and his style of writing.
It’s hard to say why this one stands head and shoulders above any other comic of its type, because a million people make autobiographical comic books. It’s one of the easiest things to do because you don’t have to write a story. With this it’s his storytelling style, and the kind of stories that he’s telling. I don’t think anybody could read Peepshow and not be blown away by it. It’s so funny and so different from other stuff. Peepshow was one of the comics that I discovered on the independent rack in the back of the comics store, and from the first issue that I bought I was immediately like, "I gotta get more of this."
Another thing that I feel really connects Snakepit and Peepshow as autobiographical comics is that there’s no narration in either one describing things from a removed point of view. Everything that you’re reading is taking place in the moment without the creator putting it in a context and interpreting it for you. The creator just puts what happened out there and it’s all very alive, taking place within the moment and the interactions. You’re really free as the reader to laugh or cry at the character. I feel that a lot of people make the mistake when doing autobiographical stuff of explaining it or trying to put too many details in because they’re talking about their own life. So that’s what makes Snakepit and Peepshow both great autobiographical comics, there’s very little overcontrol in that sense.
