4 out of 5

A 2024 sketchbook mini-comic; cyan-ish blues on off-white; ~24ish pages.

Taking place in Ben’s world of reclaimed / populated deserts and cliffs, full page, shaded illustrations – far from sketches, y’all – depict be-goggled youths hanging out around storefronts selling ice cream and lotto tickets, or by a gathered population of anthropomorphic cutie animals, or urban-exploring underground streams and cellars, or just wandering around. As usual with Ben, little details of signage and the way mechanisms are constructed are either just fun details or implicit story-building, or both.

The one “downside” to this collection is that it its scenes seem to take place exclusively at night; a theme in a book like this is not a bad thing, but this specific instance ironically cast a sleepy vibe over the book that made it harder to flip through patiently, absorbing details. That is: there’s something about the nighttime setting (and particularly when delivered via the shades of blue) that makes the book feel especially casual, and ready for its pages to be turned. And I get that it’s “just” a sketchbook, and maybe no one’s asking for the pages to be studied, but Ben’s work is generally so fun, I found it odd when I noticed I was lingering less than usual – having a few daytime pages could’ve broken up the mood a little bit.