cover image Love's Not a Three Dollar Fare

Love's Not a Three Dollar Fare

Terry Laban. Fantagraphics Books, $14.95 (128pp) ISBN 978-1-56097-165-8

Several of LaBan's ``Unsupervised Existence'' stories are collected here in a friendly tribute to Danny, a lovable cabdriver/philosopher; Suzy, an unemployed tender-heart; and their group of eccentric buddies. LaBan's urbane and poignant vignettes are brilliantly illustrated in a style that can best be described as natural--at least insofar as the cityscape setting and the slacker lifestyles of the cabdriver-poets, New Age followers and lesbian rock stars who people the pages. While there are few actual conclusions to any of the ongoing episodes in the collection, the reader won't be disappointed: a simple kiss, a character's frustration, make it seem all the more true to life. The dialogue is evocative and realistic, whether it is that of a woman who gets an abortion or Danny and Suzy during tender lovemaking. LaBan is particularly sensitive to the issues of modern romance, labor disputes and sexual experimentation. Here he has woven a net of characters that rank with such cartoons as Alison Bechdel's Dykes to Watch Out For and Stan Mack's Real Life Funnies. (Apr.)