Minty Lewis’ Creative BrillianceRandy Shawbyline‚ Jul. 30‚ 2009Midway through Minty Lewis’ newly released PS Comics, I got to thinking about Charles M. Schultz, the creator of Peanuts. Had Schultz introduced stories of Snoopy and Charlie Brown in the current era, his most productive years would have coincided with declining newspaper circulation and shrunken comic strips. Only graphic novel insiders would know the entire comic world he created. It may sound presumptuousness to link Minty Lewis and Charles Schultz, but like the Peanuts creator she has invented an entirely new world whose characters reveal deep insights about life. In Lewis’ case, her main characters are fruit, though dogs and salt and pepper-shakers also have their say. Lewis’ apple, pear, mango, lemon and others work in offices and have their own distinct personalities; their dialogue is both more realistic and more insightful than anything found in today’s situation comedies or the routinely sexist romantic comedies that fill our movie screens. |