I Love Led Zeppelin

There are certain expectations that you bring to different authors and artists. When it comes to comix, for example, you go into a reading of R. Crumb knowing that he excels at exploring the inner landscape. If you read Harvey Pekar, you know that he's going to take you to a richer appreciation of the quotidian. Art Spiegelman's work, you know, will hit you in your moral gut.But if there's one thing that stands out about Ellen Forney's work, it's that it doesn't lend itself to easy expectations. Sometimes she comes across as a hip, cool, punk. At other times, she seems like the girl next door. One minute she's an incredibly sexy, excitingly creative avant gardist. The next she's a chronicler of the mundane. There's very little that's predictable about her work, and that's part of what makes it so intriguing and so illuminating.In I Love Led Zeppelin, Forney presents her work in 4 different categories: "How to" guides ("How to Be a Fabulous Fag Hag," "How to Tip Your Server," and "How to _____ a Woman with your Hands"); More Short Comics, including the hilarious and poignant "The Light Snow Became a Blizzard," "Walking with Carol," and my favorite, "Wednesday Morning Yoga"; '92-'94, with "My Date with Camille Paglia" leading the pack; and Collaborations, with themes ranging from star-struck fans to sexual coming of age.Forney's artwork is clean and incredibly expressive given the minimum of pen strokes she uses. She has a good eye, both for drawing and for focusing in on the funny, joyous, alarming, and profound moments hidden away in the stuff of everyday life. Like Harvey Pekar, she sees the deep significance in what's too often dismissed as insignificant. Unlike Pekar, though, she seems to have an uncomplicated love of life, an exuberant appetite for fun and celebration, that makes her work both insightful and fun.So: how do you be an Ellen Forney fan? Read her stuff without expectations and preconceptions, and enjoy the ride. Oh, and one more thing: loving Led Zeppelin wouldn't hurt.