Yeah Dude Comics 2014 Subscription #3 Laura Knetzger's Find Me, Look For Me: Deep Psychological Troubles Camouflaged as Cute Aliens

Cutesy Melancholy

The third issue of the 2014 Yeah Dude Comics is absolutely stunning. A phenomenal foray into depression and despair camouflaged as an adorable alien story.

Laura Knetzger's Find me, Look for me, is the story of a young woman who finds a strange little alien in her backyard after a meteorite crashes nearby. She doesn't know where he comes from, but he looks pretty cute and defenseless. He looks a bit troubled and in need of support. She decides to adopt him and nurture him. She feeds him, teaches him and cares for him like you would a child or a pet. Although she sometimes wishes to leave everything behind and go away, she likes having this little alien around and will care for him for as long as it takes. This is the clear and obvious story, but there is also a terrible sub-text of loss, loneliness and quiet desperation. 

Distracted from her loneliness and desperation by the appearance of an adorable alien

The main character lives alone in the mountains. She has lost her brother at some point in the past and is now not only lonely, but deeply troubled. This loss has made life unbearable. She also doesn't feel the house is hers anymore, yet she can't bring herself to leave. Adopting the alien and caring for him fills a void and brings her some sort of redemption. We never know what happened to her brother, nor is it necessary to understand the trauma she has experienced. What we see is the agony and sorrow of this woman. Depression and sadness run deep underneath the cloak of cutesy alien.

The use of colour also emphasizes this dual notion of despair and adorableness. Grey and Blue are the only colours used in the book. The protagonists has "the blues". Blue signifies depression, tranquility, peace, calm and ice. She is frozen in those feelings, unable to escape them and come to accept those feelings as her existence. 

This book is short, but is dense and deep. At first glance, one could quickly dismiss it, but it would be a grave mistake. Laura Knetzger created an insightful voyage into depression within a really short page count. It is a creative look at sadness and despair. A brilliant short story that haunts this reader, in particular.