Cubicles: The Graphic Novel

Cubicles: The Graphic Novel
Red 5 Comics
Written by Walter Ostlie
Art by Walter Ostlie

How many of us out there work in a cubicle farm? Basically, a bunch of small cubes spread out over a large area or on a bunch of different floors. Well, this Novel is for us. Imagine if you will, you go to your cube, day-in, day-out and do the mundane work (ok, that fits me a bit), your best friend is a slacker (now, it’s hitting close to home), your office supplies attack everyone in the office (I’ve kind of seen that) and the two of you get sent off to escort supplies to the other side of the galaxy (good, I’m out) and things roll from there. This starts up what happens to Wally and Ost.

This was a fun book that just fit if you’ve ever worked in a call center or some other type of office environment. Being in black and white with exaggerated features works for this story, almost like it’s a dream or someone thinking it up on the fly. Each character has their own voice and is unique; you can feel yourself being drawn into the tail they are telling. The humor is appropriate and, if you work in that kind of place, you get all the in-jokes, if you don’t, it’s still funny. Each frame leads you to the next easily and the story flows very well. You want to know what happens on the next frame.

I really had a lot of fun reading this novel. The story was just close enough to be relevant and distant enough to be a fantasy. Each generation, we get something that calls to that one job. There was a couple of Kevin Smith movies, John Hughes movies and the beloved Office Space. This could rank up there with them. The heroes bumble their way along and do the right things because either they fall into it or luck out. In my humble opinion, as soon as you see this on the shelves, buy it. I give it a 5 caps out of 5.