American Splendor #16
In "Snake," Harvey Pekar and artist Joe Zabel deliver a quietly unsettling story of dislocation and memory. Sarah and her friend Bob take a wrong turn in New Mexico, ending up in a remote stretch of the Santa Fe State Forest where time blurs and unease settles in. As they attend a Native corn dance and share a moment of unexpected connection with an elder, Sarah’s growing sense of familiarity with Harvey Pekar’s name leads to a haunting recollection that spans decades. The story, illustrated with Zabel’s precise lines and Dumm’s sharp inks, unfolds with the quiet intensity of real life pressing against the edges of the unknown.
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A wrong turn causes Sarah and her friend Bob to wind up in a desolate place in New Mexico. They go to a mountain top in the Santa Fe State Forest to check out the majestic terrain. Having lost their sense of time, they stay at a motel where they feel fear, like they're being watched. Next, they go to a native corn dance event where Sarah converses with an elder who talks about his difficult life and helps her access her spirituality. She sends Harvey a letter asking why his name sounds familiar to her, causing him to remember their relationship from decades before.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).