By Phil Wagner
Iconoclast

Fans of Mr. Meyer’s never-ending odyssey through life (as depicted in his ‘zine, “28 Pages Lovingly Bound With Twine”) will delight in this ‘big-screen’ version, his first book. Lisa, 4-year-old Herbie, and the author take a first class train ride (free, via a “rewards” credit card) from Cleveland to Portland, Oregon. They stay two weeks (during which Mr. Meyer participates in a zine/comic convention), renew ties with family and friends, and return home, again by train. Though something of a diary, it’s not boring, since the author’s powers of observation can lead from the mundane to the universal. You’ve got to be a pretty good writer to cover the ground Mr. Meyer calls his own and keep your audience’s interest (although on occasion, he can tell us a leetle more than we want or need to know). But by and large, he manages to inform, amuse, and entertain. And even if you hate to read, the wild, creative, individual-touch graphics, illustrations, and lay-out make it all a pleasant and one-of-a-kind experience, more art than literature. Or a children’s book for adults (without the arch, knowing attitude or self-consciousness)?