Sturm, James. Market Day. Drawn and Quarterly, 2010. ISBN 978-1897299975 96 pp. $21.95

****

This wonderfully subtle story set in the early 1900s about an artisan rug maker trying to make ends meet as he starts a family is lovely, but slow and dark. His craft is being replaced by cheap machine-made carpets. The spare writing and flat illustrations are marvelously done. I especially loved the transitions between Mendelman’s observations and the rugs he weaves and how the tones shift to brighter (though still muted ones) when he comes hopefully upon a new venue to sell his wares.