Seeds: comic-book memoir of father's cancer is moving, sweet

Cory Doctorow 6:17 am Tue Apr 19, 2011

Ross Mackintosh's debut graphic novel Seeds is a wrenching, first-person account of Mackintosh's father's last months as he died of lung cancer. It's not exactly upbeat, but it's also not merely an existential misery — rather, it's a moving tour of Mackintosh's emotional journey as his father slipped away, filled with regret and love, sorrow and humor, exasperation and sweetness. I ended up crying in a restaurant as I finished it, but I spent the rest of the day turning it over and feeling good for it. Mackintosh's father — a no-nonsense engineer who was gruff but loving — went well, as these things go, and Mackintosh's experience of his father's cancer brought him to terms with all sorts of father-son stuff that many of us think about. I recommend it without reservation, but bring a box of tissues with me when you're reading it.

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