I read the fair of comics. Let's say that since I'm from the old school, I grew up with comics and, as an adult, I opted more for letters than for cartoons. I'm only faithful to the purr of my favorite black kitty John Blacksad, Guarnido and Díaz Canales. But every now and then I take a look at the panorama. And this summer I have come across this little gem, A policeman on the moon, from the cartoonist and screenwriter Tom gauld, and it has fascinated me.

With two little nieces who are beginning to read, I have returned to the children's books and comics section. So every time I go to a bookstore or a mall, I take a walk. And one of these days, sheltered from the infernal heat, I got into one of them. I must also note that I is reading the word police somewhere and I'm already interested.

So title of this little book on the children's shelf It called my attention. I picked it up and just started reading until I finished it. In total it was perhaps 10 minutes of time invested. There is hardly any written text, but his monochrome drawings, simple and minimalist they manage to excellently express the simplicity of a very simple story and at the same time deep.

Tom gauld

Born in Aberdeen In 1976, this Scottish cartoonist and screenwriter has made an important niche in the current comics scene. Their strips and illustrations are published on sites like The Guardian o The New York Times. He only has two other long works.

• Goliath (2012): the story of David and Goliath from the latter's point of view.
• Everybody is envious of my flying backpack (2015): a compilation of his comic strips on themes and with varied characters published in The Guardian.

Last March he was in Spain to present this policeman whose influences they come from the work Stanley Kubrick or the 60s architecture in Great Britain.

A policeman on the moon

Synopsis

En 96 pages we're going to the moon There the colony that there is has known better times and it is emptying little by little. Nobody comes and everyone leaves. Bleak panorama for the protagonist, the only police who stays with his daily work of rounds and surveillance. But these are getting shorter and shorter and cases to be solved so few as unimportant. A old woman who loses her dog, automaton escaping from the Museum of the Moon, or a girl running away From home.

So one day so another where llife passes as slowly as monotonous and deeply lonely for our hero who, nevertheless, continues at the foot of the canyon. But nothing is what it was. One of those days his neighbors say goodbye because they return to Earth. Another, his patrol vehicle breaks down, but there are no more spare parts and those that ship from Earth come with different configurations that no longer work there.

Yes indeed. What not fail is that coffee and those donuts in the only place that is left and that attends a waitress as lonely as him. Until it also fails.

Which is

The fact that do not be fooled by the simple lines or the sobriety or the monochrome. Neither do the empty vignettes of texts, because they express like nothing the silence and loneliness that surround the protagonist. Everything forms one admirable mix of melancholy, humor and irony. You just sit there on the moon too and live with the same feelings as that kind and resigned law enforcement officer. We feel his melancholy, his disappointment to see that his dream come true little by little has turned into a nightmare.

Yo I recommend taking a look. Maybe it won't tell you anything or maybe you will find something that, like me, gives you that touch of discovery. But without any doubt it will not leave you indifferent.