Li’l Depressed Boy‘s disappearance, led up to by crushing delays, was nothing short of reason to actually get sad. It’s hard to verbalize exactly why Steven Struble and Sina Grace‘s weird book about the romantic escapades of a sack doll is so excellent. The plots are simple, but told incredibly well, with insane control over characterization, atmosphere, and suspense. There’s a wonderful sense of realism with a dash of the surreal, thanks to the protagonist being a sack doll in a world of human beings that never acknowledges he’s any different. The first issue of the relaunch, Li’l Depressed Boy: Supposed to be There Too, is a graceful, warm return to this comic book gem.

A summary page at the start catches old readers up and gives new readers enough information to follow the story just fine, although I’d recommend newbies start from the beginning for the full effect. This first issue takes place right after the end of the previous volume, offering a furtherance of the story about LDB and the girlfriend he made at his movie theater gig. Before too long, everything sticks again, including LDB’s cute, sheepish attempts to find happiness and his current girlfriend’s excited, jumbled-up way of speaking. Lots of joy can be found in this issue, but it’s all layered; veteran readers know that any and all positivity gleaned from this series will ultimately lead into big bummers.

The most sophisticated moment I can recall of Li’l Depressed Boy is in this issue, whenever shackled LDB is forced to mull over a newly available, past love interest he was broken up about not being able to pursue previously. This awkward confusion is just one of the moments Sina Grace is able to effortlessly visualize. His art is fantastic, able to show all of the expression necessary to complete every goal of this book. It also strikes a nice balance between serving the story and being generally great to look at on its own, especially the splashes saved mostly for reveals.

I forgot how much the creative team packs into each issue besides the main story. The back end of this comic has a big letters column, an unrelated short story, and lovely bonus art, just like the single issues of the old Li’l Depressed Boy. Life is better now that LDB is back.

Story: Steven Struble Art: Sina Grace
Story: 8.75 Art: 8.75 Overall: 8.75 Recommendation: Buy

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Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review