"There's nothing better than the thrill of discovering an artist who's totally unique, and that's the thrill of reading Alexis Cooke, whose artwork reminds me of Natsume Ono and Tove Jansson and Patalliro! but it's really like nothing I've ever seen. Her tapestry-like compositions feel like 1970s shojo manga, with delightfully original use of flowers, emoticons and sound effects drawn with fine thin lines, but her character designs are from another world entirely, handsome men and women with huge noses and pretty, long-lashed eyes. Dinner Ditz, a short story of a few chapters, is the tale of Peregrine, a divorced gay man trying to learn to cook so he can be a better father to his daughter. Help comes in the form of Otho, his cook neighbor, whom Peregrine accidentally runs into in the hallway after one particularly disastrous cooking experiment. Did I mention that Otho is quite fetching? This charming character piece surprises in all kinds of ways, from Peregrine's friendly relationship with his ex-wife Dottie (“You're the best ex-wife any gay could ask for, Dottie!” “Awww! You're the best ex-husband any small-town girl could want!”) to his relationship with his daughter, a character much more complex than the typical moe daughter pixie seen in manga. Most of all, I never thought I'd read a comic that made the “they suck at cooking” cliché actually funny. Alexis’ other ongoing Sparkler story, For Peace, is also a romance. Following two lesbian truckers, youthful Lillian and more experienced convoy-leader BeBe, it follows them through their struggles as they try to balance love with the demands of trucking and life on the road. As Lillie's mom teases her “You only get this excited over fast cars and girls!”"