A Rich Tapestry

A Rich Tapestry is a large, 78-page, comic-style zine from Perth, Australia that can be purchased for $6. The artist and creator, Tristan Fidler, introduces the zine with a quick explanation behind the title:

“Whenever there was a lull in conversation or I didn’t know what to say, I’d offer the saying ‘Hey, it’s a rich tapestry!’”

All of the comics feature Tristan’s friends, and it shows them in situations that really happened between the end of 2011 and the end of 2012. In addition to having great illustrations, readers get to see intimate and funny moments between this group of close friends.

There are a lot of personal and comedic conversations, karaoke songs, and 30^th birthday parties. Some of the comics that stood out for me were the ones that mentioned Jurassic Park (the greatest thing overheard at a party in 2012) and the dinner story that details how a great, great grandfather in 1800s Ireland cut off his hand to win a swim contest against his brother and the heart of the woman he married.

I’m also a fan of the guy with a conservative job who wears colored socks to work. As he puts it, “They’re a secret you keep from the world.”

The zine ends with Tristan’s deepest thought he had on a Sunday. He’s driving to Fremantle and thinks about how he has no idea where he’ll be in life in five years, which is both scary and comforting. “We really don’t know where we’re going…” he says.

Even though he may not know what his future holds, I think Tristan has a strong support network (they all knew about his comics and loved them!) and I hope he keeps doing his annual zine so we can see what his life really is like in five years.