Work-Life Balance

Three hapless people troubled in their work life find some consolation, no thanks to unhelpful therapist Dr. Sharifi. Anita churns out ho-hum ceramics for Etsy sale, though she yearns to create “real art” like a colleague who’s having a posh gallery show. Sandra sexually harasses a male colleague at the Agileal company. Rex, offering his software to the same company, panics when his design is stolen without payment, and he must survive doing pizza deliveries. These mostly realistic plots are creative and wryly funny, with some goofy touches. Agileal requires staff to wear smiley slippers and use “ergo beanie” chairs while cruelly misleading Rex and Sandra. The supposed therapist gives no advice, keeping clients at arm’s length while pampering herself. Franz (Shit Is Real) color codes her roundish, almost Thurber-esque characters: purple toned for Anita’s world, orange for Sandra, green for Rex. Mental musings and memories appear in smudgy monochromes. In this work, while therapy may not be therapeutic, failure may not quite be failure, either. Readers will enjoy the absurdities yet will likely relate.