This 2006 anthology of work by John Henry Hart contains a selection of his comics work from the preceding three years, the oldest that I can see being dated 2003. One has to wonder if Hart felt that he needed to clear out the backlog of his comics before moving on to new work.

This is not to say that the stories contained in Insipid Candy are not without merit, but there is a certain rough, unfinished quality to many of them, as if they are trial runs for something bigger. Indeed, Hart includes the first three pages of an abortive application to the Centre for Cartoon Studies as part of the comic, and one of the first strips features an inspirational poster adorned with the word “PROCRASTINATION”. That said, there are some beautiful moments to be found, especially in the final strip Puzzle Piece, and Hart has a pleasingly simple drawing style that is very immediate.

Insipid Candy feels like a starting point, not a destination. The journey should be an interesting one to watch.

$2.00 and all the postage you can muster, I expect. Email the author at insipidcandyman@gmail.com.