Men I Trust (Tommi Parrish, Scribe)

Scribe is proving itself to be at the forefront of local comics publishing with its second graphic release of 2022, Men I Trust by US-based Australian artist Tommi Parrish. The book centres on the burgeoning friendship between Eliza and Sasha, both grappling with the alienation of modern life on top of their own personal problems. Eliza is struggling to make ends meet, trying to balance work, sobriety and being a single parent with making a life as a poet. Upon meeting Sasha, who is trying to gain some sense of normality after moving back home after a rough year, Eliza begins to feel like they’re not completely alone in the world—despite the situations that arise from Sasha’s increasingly erratic behaviour. With the palette of Simon Hanselmann and the emotional heft of Adrian Tomine, Parrish paints a realistic and intimate portrait of queer friendship, the colourful, genderless characters avatars for anyone grappling with how to live a meaningful life under capitalism. Parrish’s trademark painted figures animate a nuanced and highly relatable depiction of anxiety, depression and complicated relationships, the characters of Eliza and Sasha alive with humour, personality and astutely observed thoughts and feelings. As seen in places such as The Lifted Brow and the author’s previous, award-winning book The Lie and How We Told It, Parrish’s work continues to reclaim brightness and boldness in the service of rendering real human lives. Men I Trust is a beautiful and honest work from an artist deserving of all of the home-country recognition that will no doubt finally come their way.

Kelsey Oldham is an editor at Books+Publishing.

Category: Reviews