Mooncop, is smart, wry, droll humor from Tom Gauld

Glib and droll are fraternal adjectives in the same family that are worlds apart. Glib is not funny. Droll is a curious joke that usually takes its time and is as dry as the surface of the moon. Mooncop is droll. It’s a great example of how to describe ‘dry’ in reference to a joke or sense of humor. This is the latest from Tom Gauld, a fabulously witty cartoonist whose foot print is similar to Matt Groening’s Life In Hell, mixed with Gary Larson’s The Far Side and The Oatmeal.

Gauld is the cultural cartoonist for The Guardian. His comics there have the wry observations of Life In Hell, the absurdity of The Far Side and The Oatmeal; all the while being its own creative vehicle. Those strips are very often about literature, truthful, have biting humor and will make you laugh out loud or think about things. His comics are something that you’ll seek out after you read one of them.

Mooncop is a new graphic novel about a cop on the moon. It’s a very slow beat for Mooncop, there are only a couple of people who live there and he’s actively looking for a transfer. “Living on the moon….What were we thinking? ……It seems so silly now” is a well timed and deadpan quote from the book.  That’s worth mentioning because there isn’t much dialogue in Mooncop. There are lots of panoramic views of the moon, wide shots of space and various close ups of Mooncop, not much talking or chatty astronauts.

Its economy of words plays to the strength of the book. The moon is desolate and the characters, or lack thereof and minimal conversation make each word matter. This really drives home the deadpan, droll nature of the graphic novel that makes it work for what it is.

I really enjoyed the book. It’s wry, clever and made me smile the entire way through the book. There were a couple moments where I had an audible laugh, but they’re the exception and this is not really that kind of humor.

Gauld’s humor in The Guardian or elsewhere in his cartoon strips will be funnier for most than what is in Mooncop. My wife and I can simply start quoting some of his cartoons from the paper and laugh for minutes. It’s funny, but it really takes its time and will be too deadpan for some audiences.

Did you ever see After Hours?  It’s a very funny film from 1985 about New York at night and the odd characters that live in that time. Mooncop reminds us of a shorter, more deadpan, lunar version of that film. If you’re a fan of Gauld’s work you will easily get lost and enjoy the landscape in Mooncop. Ditto folks who are looking for a fresh, original and left of center graphic novel, check it out.