The concept is quite good. Mixed media showing existing photographs interspersed with the historical fiction of John, a photographer who lands a job with the goal of showing people in the country what life in the dust bowl is like, during the depression.

It does work as a book, and has a serviceable plot. But it is still fairly reductive and ironically centres someone with a very mundane story to capture something intricate. His character arc doesn’t do much at all to disabuse this either. Nor this rumination on the macro art of photography. The art itself is fine but feels like a strange pair with the subject matter. It’s a bit too cartoony, and John himself looks about twelve years old. It all felt a little too incongruent for me to really get into it.

But I actually only picked this up for the Eisner nomination regardless. I like to keep up with what is considered the best from multiple sources.