Snake Pit 2009

(birdcage bottom books) Ben Snakepit's light, cartoony, mundane, daily 3-panel diary comics, which he's been doing for over a decade (and which he may stop publishing, though not stop drawing, this year) are great because they are not that great. Meaning, they are not deeply personal soul-bearing autobiography, and hardly anything happens (he goes to work, he goes to band practice, he gets high, he plays videogames, he does laundry, he watches cable, he cooks with his girlfriend). But what's great is that despite going through the motions and the grind Ben is pretty satisfied, and in fact a few times a year his comix avatar just loudly declares how much he loves his life. The greatness of Ben's work is that despite defying literary laws of what makes a work good (drama, intrigue, narrative development) it tells you that his life, and consequently, your life, are OK. It helps you be satisfied with mundanity and helps you appreciate the little things. Ben Snakepit enriches all of our lives through boring comics!