The Weakly Dispatch

by Rick Trembles, Robert Crumb (Introduction)

A pandemic time capsule by a celebrated underground cartoonist When COVID-19 hit Montreal, cartoonist Rick Trembles started The Weakly Dispatch , a series of diary comics offering his personal perspective on pandemic life. Trembles’ asthma put him at risk of a serious infection so, like many people, he took careful measures to avoid coming into contact with the virus. He self-isolated for months, surviving on grocery deliveries from friends, DIY workouts (to prevent muscle atrophy), and of course, comics. Leaving the apartment, however, turned out to be even harder than staying isolated. Initially foiled by stair-painters and coughing neighbours, Trembles quickly discovered a newly perilous world, populated by unmasked people and handshake enthusiasts. The Weakly Dispatch is a wry and vulnerable look at the day-to-day complexities of life during a global pandemic, by the creator of Represented Immobilized .

120 pages, Paperback

Published May 10, 2022

Reviews

[Chris Browning · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mostly know Trembles from his wonderful film comics, but this is very different indeed. It’s fascinating to read these things as someone who had, quite frankly, a perversely great time during lockdown (it was like being retired! No people about, loads of time to read and mentally wander, all my anxieties gone, still getting paid… I had such a nice time, unlike my wife who went through hell). It’s understandably a little manic because Trembles clearly went through *a lot* and this seems to have been his main way of externalising a very interior world, but it’s a fascinating little book even if it’s understandably a little emotionally exhausting at times

[Amanda Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moshe Kasher best described us as “Big covid cucks” on his podcast with his wife Natasha Leggero. I quote it a lot. I too was a covid cuck, staying inside, keeping a tight bubble, working from home etc etc. I hadn’t thought of it much lately, but this comic really brought back some 2020 memories. His correspondence with Crumb was also interesting. Decent fun read. A little hectic.