Jar of Fools

"A lovely, short 'picture novel' exploring the tenacious bond between an alcoholic stage magician and his cranky mentor."—The New York Times Book Review

"Jar of Fools is full of people trying to stop things they care about most from melting away, like estranged lovers and old-fashioned jobs. All the main characters—the magician, a coffee-shop cashier, a small-time con man—are in danger of ending up beaten down and swallowed up by the silences of life, which Lutes' well-paced art evokes so effectively."—Details

"The story itself is so masterfully told that it could stand alone as a novella in Harper's. When combined with Lutes' spare black-and-white line drawings and creative use of the comic book medium, it becomes something transcendent—a piece of literature that speaks to the emotional core."—Wired

"Employing the lost skills of mood, sparseness, and language, Lutes' stunning comic Jar of Fools transcends the usually mealy-mouthed limits of graphic novels and, in the process, winds up being a damn good read."—Spin

"Reading Jar of Fools is like getting a slow-motion punch in the face. There's plenty of time to get out of the way. But something compels you to wait and find out if it's actually going to hurt that much when it hits. And, of course, it does."—Chris Ware, author of Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kids on Earth