Forlorn Funnies Vol. 1 wrangles the new and disparate inhabitants of one skull: that of acclaimed cartoonist Paul Hornschemeier, author of the graphic novels Mother, Come Home and The Three Paradoxes. The centerpiece of the issue is Act One of "Obvious Amenities," the story of Edward Molson, salesman. After the untimely osprey-induced death of a coworker, Molson is thrust into a cross-country speaking engagement, a chance to revisit youthful diversions, and a potential extra-marital love affair. But for now, he has to walk his wife's dog. Again. Vol. 1 also includes: "Huge Suit and The Sea," featuring the deity/fate/deus ex machina Huge Suit prodding and poking at the destiny of a relentlessly smiley boatman; a short prose story, "Whither Mountain Man," following a nameless protagonist on his search for a mythological beast sighted in the hills of an early 1900's Montana; Chapter 1 of "The Epistemics," which follows a team of military specialists and scientists in their role in the colonization of the planet Themis IV. Science fiction to surrealism, period pieces to the modern quotidian, drawn in a clean style with flat color-work. These stories, in concert with shorter experiments and gags, all squeeze themselves between the covers of this first volume of Forlorn Funnies, an ongoing collection of stories by one of our most skilful and prolific cartoonists that promises to be unpredictable and enthralling.