When the World Trade Center was attacked on Sept. 11th, what had started as a normal day for Henrik Rehr turned into a day of fear and desperation. His family separated by the confusion and fear that wracked the city, Henrik, with his youngest toddler-son, began the excruciating task of ensuring the safety of his wife and oldest son while dealing with the evacuation process. As he and his neighbors cope with the extraordinary events unfolding around them, new friendships are made and old bonds strengthened.

Henrik Rehr's Tuesday, a two-issue mini-series, documents one family's struggle to make it through one of the worst days in the history of the United States. In doing so, he presents an arresting sequential tale that proves a former contention of mine: "real life" comics are potentially as entertaining as any fiction. Unfortunately, however, they are few and far between.

Rehr does a wonderful job of relaying the fear and frustration of the event, but in a calmer, more restrained manner than one would expect. There is a warmness that is absent in most "disaster" stories, provided primarily through "flashback" sequences of the birth of his son, as well as a particularly touching scene after a bedtime story. Rehr's art style is one of the most pleasant to view in independent comics today. Clean, bold lines, clear storytelling and expressive characterization are par for the course in this work. The artist's characters convincingly display concern, elation, joy, even exhaustion, to a degree that would be generally unexpected from what is a fairly simple art style.

Perhaps the most attractive aspect of Tuesday, is that it is all-ages friendly. There's no need to worry about so-called "adult" content, if the kiddies get hold of it. Good fare for classrooms or the doctor's office. Tuesday is whole-heartedly recommended for all ages (except the youngest of children).

- Rambles
written by Mark Allen
published 6 September 2003