A graphic novella about the last summer of the author's childhood, Perfect Example reminds us how nice and how awful it is to be a teenager. Pushed away memories are brought back into the light, from the awkwardness of telling a girl you like her, to the shock of seeing a friend holding a beer for the first time. The storytelling is sweet without being glib or syrupy. The illustration is sparse and lyrical, with a logic all its own; a comics equivalent to the "three chords and the truth" aesthetic that both country music and punk rock embrace.

David Lasky