Triumphing Through Failure: Review of Comic ‘smallness’

It’s been a little over a year since Ashanti Fortson created and debuted their sci-fi journey comic smallness at SPX. The one-shot comic celebrated its one-year anniversary back in September and it is a comic that still holds much weight a year later. Yes, Fortson has been busy creating art by way of their webcomic Galanthus, providing art for blessed resources and being involved with two of this year’s most creative comic anthologies, Power & Magic and Wayward Friends. smallness, the sci-fi tinged journey that sets a course through self-doubt and how to pace oneself, was on my mind. Notably, it was worth rereading and reviewing as this year and this decade is soon coming to an end. The synopsis of smallness reveals that “After she makes a mistake that sends her dreams crashing down around her, a young engineer struggles to cope with the enormity of her failure.” The comic opens to one Akma making a galactic call to her father before leaving on a trip. Her parents are so proud: she’s their child who has received a prestigious position most would only dream of–she’s making them proud and following her dreams. Everyone will know, everyone will hear of their dear Akma’s grand success. The problem? Our girl has been fired from the very job that she’s worked so hard and long for and now she’s just trying to navigate how to live with the big L that she feels has been stamped on her forehead.   Fortson’s art is everything dreamy and out of sight while still making such scenes …