It’s high time I gave a shout-out to Andrew Lorenzi.

I found out about him over the past summer, and spent some happy hours poring over the pages and pages of beautiful comics on his livejournal. Yes, livejournal. That’s where Lorenzi began posting his work, back in 2006. The very first comic he put up was about his love of the band Why? (a band I have loved since Ian introduced me to them over Summer 2008, while we were both living in the St Paul house). That was more than enough to get me hooked.

In the years since that first comic went up, Lorenzi’s style has gotten tight, and his work is now popping up in places like Top Shelf 2.0 and (oh hey) The Daily Cross Hatch. I really, really recommend reading his Cross Hatch guest strip, which is from last February. Lorenzi captures nostalgia, and uncertainty about change, better than almost anyone, and the Cross Hatch strip really showcases this. In a single page, he covers winter, changes to his hometown, a friend leaving to go back to the army, getting nostalgic while deconstructing a comment under a facebook photo…and larger, less-nameable things and feelings that I won’t attempt to label.  He is a genius at bestowing tiny moments with great significance, without being overlong or melodramatic.  That strip speaks very directly to me, particularly over this winter break. And damn is it beautifully executed. I can’t wait to see what he’ll do next!