Stay In The Moment With Present By Leslie Stein
by Hannah Means Shannon
Present collects various comics by Stein that appeared on Vice.com and tells various stories with a wide breadth of scope and appeal. The “present” of the title, means the current moment, and is a “meditation on memory”.
D + Q say:
Leslie Stein takes us on a sinuous urban stroll divorced from destination, glimpsing New York City through her open eyes. While she is closing up a bar late at night, she is also an adolescent at a rave in the mountains, an adult grappling with her grandfather’s fading memory or at one of her first waitressing jobs. Stein is a master storyteller, an urban explorer, and a loyal guide through dark days and simple, blissful encounters. Stein’s curiosity about and generosity toward the world around her come through powerfully: each colorful story flows with vivid watercolors and delicate ink lines. Here, an autobiography is built through memories and moments tied together by loose lines, evoking a beautiful dreamlike yet endlessly relatable glimpse into the world of a thirty-something woman carving out a life for herself, one step at a time.
Here’s a look at Present:
Present is currently available from Drawn & Quarterly.
