3 out of 5

Weird?  Dumb?  Silly?  Some combination of those three adjectives, along with ‘fun?’  Maybe that.  I’m probably being way too kind to Jim’s ‘Dragonfly,’ his Kickstarter B&W 80-page trade / issue, in part because I love Lawson, but also because I can’t quite poo on its plotting shortcomings yet when that “Issue 1” concept suggests we might find out more later…

One anthropomorphic turtle (hm…), one talking dog and one human-seeming female wake up in containment pods post a crash upon a desolate landscape.  Then there are dinosaurs.  And aliens named Plik and Ploo. who were piloting the ship that held the containment pods. but are awfully cryptic about the What and Why of things.  And there’s a vampire named Edward with whom the female instantly falls in love.  Yes, between the Jimliness of the simple concept (strangers with amnesia) mixed with open-ended sci-fi (a la Dino Island) there’s the very weird Twilight parody.  It’s amusing because it’s so blasted obvious, but it’s also a completely inexplicable addition to the
book since, at this point, we’re given no real context for anything, least of all why the book is called Dragonfly – the girl’s name – when it’s told primarily from Turtle guy’s (‘John’) perspective.  But whatever, that’s part of the slapdash fun of Jim’s writing.

While it’s a joy to see Lawson’s stylized art back in sequential form (and dig that wild free-flow lettering), there are some unfortunate gaps with details that mar the experience and cast doubt upon whether some things actually are mysteries or are just plot holes.
Regardless, if you’re looking for a new indie book to knock your socks off, this is not your bag.  Dragonfly is a quirky little tale building off of some pretty usual concepts and silly jokes.  But if you’ve read any of Jim’s other (few and far between) works, you know his vibe – which has a sort of Art Baltazar breeziness, but with this slightly acerbic sense that makes it aimed toward adults – and you should be pleased with this whatever it is (trade or issue), only hoping we do, indeed, get more of it at some point.