I love living in the USA. I love road trips. Sadly, I work and don't have a lot of extra money, so I can't take as many road trips and see as much of the USA as I'd like. Luckily for me, Chris Lowrance is recording a lot of the quirks and oddities of Greensboro, NC, his stomping grounds. I love reading "Framed" because each installment is like a mini vacation, a night on the town, a glimpse into another community. Lowrance loves his subject, and is quite the craftsman. He obviously researches and interviews quite a bit, doing a lot of background work, putting a great level of detail in to each strip. It's absolutely fantastic. Do yourself a favor and check out "Framed." It's one of those strips I can guarantee you'll enjoy. ... read it now!

I'm not sure "Framed" counts as an autobiographical strip, though. It's more like comic book journalism; man-on-the-scene reporting in a cartoon format. It's something you just don't see very often, which is just more points in its favor.

"Framed" features a doll convention, a beauty school, a factory staffed by the blind, and a pet night at the mall, with dogs, cats, and the occasional snail getting their holiday photos snapped with Santa. In a phrase, a first-hand portrait of Greensboro. It's quiet and unassuming, and lends Greensbor, a cozy, small town feel. Chris serves as the city's ambassador, but instead of trotting his audience off on a stage-managed tour of monuments and museums, directs them instead to Greensboro's people. And it's a joy to get to know them. Strange as it sounds, it's rare that "true life" comics manage to make people feel this real.

... read it now!

With each comic Chris Lowrance reveals interesting real-life people and places in Greensboro, North Carolina. While "slice-of-life" and auto-biographical comics are quite common, Chris takes a more journalistic approach; visiting places, and interviewing people. And when he's done he records it in comic form. Pleasantly stylized art, interesting topics, and good writing help bring the subject matter to life in an engaging way. ... read it now!

Small town newspapers (even alt-weeklies) have a certain charm. They can focus on those little quirks that make a place unique without getting overly side-tracked by the big news items.

Chris Lowrance's work perfectly encapsulates that kind of charm in his vignettes of Greensboro, NC. The doll market, a beauty school, pet night with the mall Santa.

Combined with a loose line style, the stories are sweet, heart-warming, and dare I say homey without the negative connotation both those adjectives normally convey. ... read it now!