Culture
An Illustrator Turns Hellish Subway Commutes Into a Hilarious Graphic Novel
Williamsburg Shorts explores a rapidly changing neighborhood through the eyes of a stressed-out subway passenger.
A commute on the L train through Manhattan and Brooklyn edges up on the nightmarish—busy platforms crowded five people deep, riders squished sardine-style inside the cars. It’s tempting to stare blankly ahead and curse.
But finding herself aboard a packed L train, the unnamed central character of a forthcoming graphic novel turns instead to her imagination. Looking around at her fellow passengers, she starts to wonder about their lives and their histories. Though the train stays underground, her ruminations bring her out into the streets of Williamsburg, where she explores the neighborhood’s history and landmarks, and runs up against some of its current controversies.