Garry Marshall was one of the best storytellers to ever write, as his movies, television shows and books took a humorous look at the human condition. He knew how to say the things most writers only wished they could articulate. His most well-known show, Happy Days, captured both the absurdity and momentousness of teen angst. His landmark show, Laverne & Shirley, spoke volumes about the issues women deal with on a daily basis.

I remember watching these shows growing up and thinking about how these stories reflected my life growing up in New York. I never put the connection together as an adolescent, but I definitely got it as I started to get exposed to different creators. It’s that “slice of life,” that human connection that tethers all people regardless of age, race and circumstance, that we are human, too. In Karl Christian Krumpholz’s brilliant 30 Miles Of Crazy, we get a similar take on life, but only for those like myself who didn’t come from the best circumstances.

In “Disrespect” an uneasy tale is told bout how far one man would go to show how he responds to any insolence. In “The Old Neighborhood,” a gentrified neighborhood becomes suddenly enveloped by people of a higher tax bracket and a worst attitude, as one such person gets put in her place. In “A Real Live One,” a man walks by what he thinks is another dead body but instead is another homeless person asleep. In “the Cost Of A Drink,” a hilarious encounter between a barfly and a bartender leaves one of them flabbergasted. In “Salt,” one city dweller dazed out of their mind looks for salt in a bed of snow. In “The Incident,” one homeless man gets harassed by some street punks and then gets arrested by the police for vagrancy. In “There’s Always A Cover,” a man tricks some customers into paying a cover fee for a bar which has no cover. In “Assumptions,” one young man laments about his drug addled friend and how people perceive him and his addiction. In “The Polite Thing To Do,” a barkeep an interesting encounter a customer and streetwalker, ending in a rather inappropriate exchange. In the final and probably most personal story, “Perseverance,” Krumpholz lets the reader into his life recounting his life in Boston , as a simple inscription above a doorway inspires him , to keep going and never give up.

The comic is an interesting collection of snapshots of life in its rawest form. The stories by Krumpholz are engaging, funny, endearing, and true to life. The art by Krumpholz is stunning and vivid. Altogether, it’s a comics which creates slices of life in the most stimulating palette.

Story: Karl Christian Krumpholz Art: Karl Christian Krumpholz
Story: 10 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.5 Recommendation: Buy