Review by Frank Plowright

Pretty well everyone’s observations differ, and we all remain unaware of some things until someone else points them out. In Qu’s case her mother wondered why they’d stopped to take a picture of an old building, but what Qu saw was the different feelings prompted by the light and shadow, and the waving line separating them. Feelings are also strongly represented in Qu’s art, and the hope behind Slices of Life is that the feeling behind short sequential strips will convey to others.

It’s frankly a big ask. What to some with artistic inclinations is a well composed three panels of a woman walking in distinctive clothing will cause others to wonder “why?” Such is the nature of observation. It means the sections more likely to resonate are those supplying imagination in addition to observation, such as a stone skimming across the water reconfigured as a rabbit running over it. Another example is that of an old fashioned kettle whistle setting forth a summoning train. The very best examples, such as the sample pages, break through to share a different way of seeing things, and they vastly outnumber a few tepid starting strips.

Qu’s actual drawing skills certainly resonate. The small panels have to convey instantly, and do so due to the liveliness of the art and movement, never suffering even when packed with other details. If there’s a signature technique, though, it’s the use of light as a motif, whether shining through to form shadow silhouettes, a means of awakening or sometimes just whimsically applied, such as a woman reaching up to pull a star from the sky and placing it in a lantern. A notable example is a sequence of four cartoons titled ‘Seasonal Wallpaper’ showing the four seasons represented by the shadows cast by a tree through a window, contrasted by a playing cat. Colour is very well considered,

Animal lovers are going to enjoy the frequent appearances of playing cats and dogs, while other creatures feature, and it may seem when reading through that people, and indeed animals recur. They do, and they’re endearingly indexed in the process material.

The way people see the world is the root of all comic art, which is why some artists are more interesting than others, and Qu’s visual imagination flies with the giants. Unfortunately, not enough people know that, and Slices of Life is elusive on the listings of online booksellers, so your best bet is to buy direct from the publisher.