Bedford Street is an Altman-esque, darkly comic exploration of social decay, hardship, recklessness, and isolation composed of loosely interwoven stories of different sets of characters living on the same street.

An alcoholic beneficiary is tasked with looking after his teenage son for a weekend. A nurse is faced with a violent altercation after her late-night shift. A single mother struggles with the sudden onset of crippling back pain while trying to keep her drug-addicted former partner at bay. A homeless man tries to readjust to life on the outside after a period of incarceration. A young father succumbs to boredom and lust.

These are some of the lives of the inhabitants of Bedford Street, an all-too-familiar place where those at the less fortunate end of the ever-widening spectrum of inequality reside. People leading modest lives in challenging circumstances where disenfranchisement is high and a sense of community is low. All packed together and teeming with a chaotic energy, some submitting to their worst impulses, others trying their best despite it all.

Bedford Street forms a mosaic image of lives lived in the maelstrom of a cost-of-living crisis, increasing rates of unemployment, and an age of individualism where isolation and alienation is rife. Murray’s skillful storytelling and combination of pathos and dark humour explores how we navigate life and care for one another in a disconnected society.

Story: Ross Murray
Art: Ross Murray

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Fantagraphics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
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