Trashed

by Derf Backderf

If you don't have anything nice to say... just ignore the guy's name. I imagine there's some kind of story behind it, right?

Anyway, this graphic novel pairs fictional episodes in the life of a garbage man, based on the author's own stint as a refuse collector (sanitation engineer?), with factoids about the history of trash, trash trucks, landfills, and the disposable economy. The amount of garbage we humans, and our associated industries, generate is nothing short of astonishing, and the ways we make it "disappear" are grossly inadequate. Not surprising, if you give it any thought, but then most of us never do. The stories of what it's like to be the ones picking up curbside are pretty much what you'd imagine, but very entertaining nonetheless. Well-done all around — art, coloring, dialogue — on thick paper in a strong binding: a solid piece of work both artistically and physically.