The one thing great about technology is how any ordinary person can express themselves without much money. Jenny Zervakis using nothing more than her imagination, a pen, and photocopier to develop her own New Yorkerish sequential art series aptly titled Strange Growths.

     Strange Growths are simply short stories about Zervakis' life and original fables. While her writing and drawing styles are amateur, Zervakis manages to keep the reader interested using drama, philosophy and wit.

     I was privy to read three issues of Strange Growths (13, 14 and the Special entitled 'Bumbalo Above Ground'). Issue 13 is focused heavily on science fiction; one-shot stories about time travel and aliens. There is even a mini poster inserted inside of an art piece drawn by her 7 year old nephew of Godzilla vs. Megalon.

     Zervakis' strength is found more in her real life stories than in her fiction, which is weak and not cohesive. When she speaks about her life, there is such a passion and intensity, one cannot help but feel they are actually in the situation. A good example of this can be seen in Zervakis’ story about the death of her cat Voltron who was hit by a car.

     Another interesting tidbit that appeared in Strange Growths, was not even a story at all. Zervakis’ developed a guide for creating your own Martian Garden, complete with the vegetation and decorations. Though drawn completely in black and white, in my mind, I could actually see myself doing this one day; it was just so cool!

     While I wouldn’t consider this work mind blowing, I do not want to write off Zervakis’ sequential storytelling just yet. The comics I read were from the early 90s. What she has now might have improved tremendously and I hope in the near future (hint, hint) that I will be able to view more of Strange Growths.

     Send your comments and or questions about this article to Cosmicnerd@ybfree.com.

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