Synopses & Reviews
In a disheveled and ransacked backyard, a dog named Simon has been forgotten by his owners. Simon breaks free and partners with a raccoon and a deer who take him into the woods. But Simon realizes he is not quite ready to live in the wild. And in the abandoned areas of the town strange things begin to happen. . . .
Vacancy explores the ways that animals think; how they internalize their changing environment and express their thoughts, fears, or excitement.
Jen Lee currently freelances in a farmhouse in Idaho. Her clients include Drop Dead Clothing, Burton, Boom! Studios, and Nickelodeon.
Review
The artwork is wonderful. The linework is clean and detailed and the characters designs really look like modern children with their fashion and styleand#133; but theyand#8217;re animals.
-Comic Bastards
Review
The narrative rides these emotional rails to great affect, and you never feel safe from this sense of restless dread that serves as VACANCYand#8217;s emotional core. [and#133;] VACANCY feels personal for Lee. Thereand#8217;s a palpable sense of anxiety here, a nervous energy thatand#8217;s difficult to conceive of, let alone approximate, if youand#8217;ve never felt it yourself. [and#133;] thereand#8217;s a deep, abiding pathos in those abstracted faces. Itand#8217;s a book that is essentially about being comfortable in your own skin, and itand#8217;s about the journeys we sometimes have to go on to assume that comfort for ourselves. [and#133;] VACANCY is rooted in optimism. Its dystopia is one limited to the now, and itand#8217;s a story about how we learn that it doesnand#8217;t define the futureand#151;if we donand#8217;t let it.
-This Is Infamous
The artwork is wonderful. The linework is clean and detailed and the characters designs really look like modern children with their fashion and styleand#133; but theyand#8217;re animals.
-Comic Bastards
Review
Vacancy is adorable but sad, with masterful and compelling storytelling [and#133;] Lee tells a sweet and sad story that could symbolize a lot of different moments in life. [and#133;] Iand#8217;m certain readers will project any number of feelings and experiences onto this story, which gives it both a universal appeal and an added weight. [and#133;] she [Lee] is an incredibly talented cartoonist and I hope that future endeavors include some fascinating work in both print and digital.
and#150;Comics Alliance
Author-artist Jen Leeand#8217;s detail and attentiveness in this aspect is a pleasure to behold; fashion is a facet thatand#8217;s too often overlooked and underused in comics. [and#133;] Vacancy (Nobrow Press) is a beautiful looking book in general; Leeand#8217;s use of color and shape is gorgeous and evocative. The sense of emptiness and uneasy quiet she conjures is almost absoluteand#151;the broken landscape a constant background even as the inherent beauty of the natural environment offers its own deceptive juxtaposition. You can choose what to see.
and#151;The AV Club
Leeand#8217;s iconic character design and use of eye-catching color is just as good on paper as it is on screen.
-Mental Floss
Itand#8217;s a beautiful book both in terms of its storytelling and well as its craft. Leeand#8217;s use of color is breathtaking [and#133;] Leeand#8217;s world-building is as dynamic a character as her anthropomorphic heroes
and#151;Comics Bulletin
Fables of making it in the big, wide, dangerous world have been done before, but perhaps never so pleasing to the eye as with this short effort by Jen Lee. [and#133;] Leeand#8217;s art is colorful and frenetically-paneled, bringing out the desperate nature of the action scenes, and well capturing the frantic emotions of the clueless companions. [and#133;] Vacancy reveals the movement inherent in her work on the page.
and#151;Vermicious
As her first print comic, it carries the moody palette and feeling of uneasy movement of her online work.
and#151;Hyperallergic
Lee is able to still take advantage of the print format in ways that donand#8217;t work as well online. The weight of the paper, the way color is used, the page layoutsand#133; itand#8217;s not just a webcomic thatand#8217;s been printed, but a comic thatand#8217;s been designed for print.
and#151;Freaksugar
The narrative rides these emotional rails to great affect, and you never feel safe from this sense of restless dread that serves as VACANCYand#8217;s emotional core. [and#133;] VACANCY feels personal for Lee. Thereand#8217;s a palpable sense of anxiety here, a nervous energy thatand#8217;s difficult to conceive of, let alone approximate, if youand#8217;ve never felt it yourself. [and#133;] thereand#8217;s a deep, abiding pathos in those abstracted faces. Itand#8217;s a book that is essentially about being comfortable in your own skin, and itand#8217;s about the journeys we sometimes have to go on to assume that comfort for ourselves. [and#133;] VACANCY is rooted in optimism. Its dystopia is one limited to the now, and itand#8217;s a story about how we learn that it doesnand#8217;t define the futureand#151;if we donand#8217;t let it.
-This Is Infamous
Vacancy by Jen Lee is a dystopian story about the sometimes opposing needs for safety and companionship. [and#133;] Leeand#8217;s style is bold and the action leaps through the graphic frames. It speaks not just to the fears of survival but a deep fear of isolation.
and#8212Joy Corcoran
The artwork is wonderful. The linework is clean and detailed and the characters designs really look like modern children with their fashion and styleand#133; but theyand#8217;re animals.
-Comic Bastards
I applaud her for using a deer as one of the troublemakers.
-Topless Robot
[Jen Leeand#8217;s] art combines qualities that are both eerie and cute, which helps define both the uneasy and disturbing world, but also the strength of the friendships blooming amidst disaster. And that, in short, is just plain cool!
-The Comic Age
Synopsis
An abandoned dog teams up with a raccoon and deer to make a new life for himself in the wild.
About the Author
Jen Lee was born in Manhattan but grew up in a beach town in Florida. Lee started to draw and make stories in elementary school; they were usually, but not always, about animals.
She received a BFA in illustration from the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where she also took classes in comics, graphic design and writing. After graduation, she worked in the graphic design and marketing departemnt of a prestigous software company. She currently freelances out of a farmhouse in Idaho, where her clients incldue Drop Dead Clothing, Burton, Boom! Studios and Nickelodeon. Her work is influenced by artists such as Marc Boutavant, Dave Cooper and Andrei Tarkovsky.