The Squirrel Mother Stories

Artist/Writer: Megan Kelso
Published by Fantagraphics Books

Often enough, I’ll pick up a comic just because it looks interesting. Such is the case with The Squirrel Mother Stories, a collection of short stories drawn over a several year period from Cartoonist Megan Kelso. There’s no overarching theme or plot connecting each comic, but there are a few similarities here and there. Almost all of the protagonists are young girls or middle aged women, and most of the stories deal with a personal issue the characters are facing. But the sheer scope of ideas makes it almost impossible to group together.

It’s nice to read a comic where things are more often implied rather than outright spelled out. Take the title story The Squirrel Mother; it takes a brief look into the life of a young mother, who feels like the world is moving on without her. The mother’s perspective is told through a series of short comics about a mother squirrel that’s written across the top of each page, whereas the main comic is told through the perspective of her daughter. It’s a neat little idea that effectively tells the same story from two perspectives. What I really like is that it doesn’t attempt to wrap things up; when the story ends the characters still have the same problems as before. It really is just a brief glimpse into the lives of a handful of characters.




The strangest comic of the series has to be the three part story of 18th century politician Alexander Hamilton. It’s strange to see a little history lesson of American politics in a book filled with otherwise fictional characters, but it’s a fun little read. My personal favourite however, is Meow Face. It’s a brief look into the life of a young girl when she stays with her unstable aunt. It’s the one story that genuinely moved me, especially considering that you never get to see anything resolved.

Kelso’s artwork is always simple and cartoonish, but there’s a lot of experimentation. She never sticks with one style or format, always switching up the panel layout and colour scheme. Sometimes the perspective of her characters seems a bit off, but it always seems intentional. More importantly though, she knows how to tell a story through actions rather than words, and that’s a big plus in my book.

I don’t think this book will blow anyone’s mind, but it’s a nice little read, and it’s appropriately priced. If you happen to see it, I'd at least reccomend giving it a flip through to see if you'd like it. I think it's the perfect palate cleanser if you're looking for something a bit different.