Finn and Charlie Are Hitched

The covers for Finn and Charlie Are Hitched

This month’s selection is Finn and Charlie Are Hitched by Chicago artist Tony Breed, a newspaper-style weekly three-panel webcomic that’s been collected into four volumes: “Can We Skip to the Part of the Conversation Where I Get My Way?” (2009), “I Love You, You Big Weirdo” (2010), “How Would I Know If You’re Dreaming?” (2012), and “Everyone Is Someone’s Fetish” (2014). The final volume was published with the help of a very successful Kickstarter campaign that allowed it to be reprinted in the original vibrant color. Ostensibly about the domestic relationship of a long-married gay couple, the scope of the comic slowly but realistically expands to include family members, friends, coworkers, old high school friends, and boyfriends old and new. Taken as a whole, the series is an intricate rumination on the meaning of family and how we choose the people who surround us.

The humor of Finn and Charlie Are Hitched transcends the perceived limitations of its form, particularly the rote “setup-beat-punchline” structure that defines so many comic strips. The jokes are solid, but also create moments of real poignancy. Flighty, body-conscious Charlie and stocky but sarcastic Finn are much deeper characters than the “goofball” and “misanthrope” labels that Mr. Breed gave them. The expanded cast is also well developed and each member goes beyond the typical one-note personality upon which a lesser artist would settle; even the bit players have hidden depths. Their misadventures touch on themes of identity, self-discovery, aging, maturity, self-expression, relationship dynamics, and self-confidence, with the occasional goofy strip about a pet cat.

Finn and Charlie share plenty of sweet, intimate moments but also bicker about household projects like any married couple. As Mr. Breed stated in an interview with Newcity Lit, “Most couples, it’s just the ordinary stuff…The hope was that it would broaden the appeal a little bit and maybe get the core message out to more people.” That message never overwhelms the reader or the story, because it originates in the hearts of the characters and the affection shown towards them. In fact, it is so subtle that many readers may not realize there is a message, which is part of the point.

Finn and Charlie Are Hitched was nominated for the Outstanding Online Comic Ignatz Award in 2011, while Mr. Breed was nominated for Promising New Talent. All four volumes should be found for sale at your local comics retailer, though Quimby’s Bookstore and Chicago Comics are probably your best bet. They are also for sale on Mr. Breed’s website and on Amazon. The continued stories about the entire ensemble can be read in Mr. Breed’s new comic, Muddler's Beat. We’re all just muddling through.