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Keeping Two #1-8
Keeping Two
20 years in the making, the long-awaited graphic novel masterpiece from acclaimed cartoonist Jordan Crane. A young couple is stuck in traffic, reading a book aloud to each other to pass the time. The relationship is already strained, but between the encroaching road rage, and a novel that hits way too close to home, tensions are running especially high by the time they arrive back at their apartment. When one of them leaves to get takeout and a movie, each of the young lovers is individually forced to confront loss, grief, fear, and insecurities in unexpected and shocking ways.
Crane's formal use of the comics medium ― threading several timelines and the interior and exterior lives of its protagonists together to create an increasing, almost Hitchcockian sense of dread and paranoia ― is masterful. But as the title hints, there are dualities at its core that make it one of the most exciting works of graphic literary fiction in recent memory, a brilliant adult drama that showcases a deep empathy and compassion for its characters as well as a visually arresting showcase of Crane's considerable talents. Keeping Two is ostensibly a story about loss, but by the end, it just might also be about finding something along the way ― something that had seemed irredeemable up to that point. In that way, it's also a deeply romantic book.
Cartoonist Jordan Crane has been one of the most quietly influential comics-makers of the past quarter-century – in multiple senses of the as a cartoonist, a designer, an editor, a publisher, a printmaker, an advocate, an archivist, and more. But Keeping Two is his biggest project in close to two decades and will be one of the most anticipated graphic novels of 2022.
Full-color illustrations throughout
Crane's formal use of the comics medium ― threading several timelines and the interior and exterior lives of its protagonists together to create an increasing, almost Hitchcockian sense of dread and paranoia ― is masterful. But as the title hints, there are dualities at its core that make it one of the most exciting works of graphic literary fiction in recent memory, a brilliant adult drama that showcases a deep empathy and compassion for its characters as well as a visually arresting showcase of Crane's considerable talents. Keeping Two is ostensibly a story about loss, but by the end, it just might also be about finding something along the way ― something that had seemed irredeemable up to that point. In that way, it's also a deeply romantic book.
Cartoonist Jordan Crane has been one of the most quietly influential comics-makers of the past quarter-century – in multiple senses of the as a cartoonist, a designer, an editor, a publisher, a printmaker, an advocate, an archivist, and more. But Keeping Two is his biggest project in close to two decades and will be one of the most anticipated graphic novels of 2022.
Full-color illustrations throughout
304 pages, Hardcover
First published July 12, 2022
19 people are currently reading
2866 people want to read
About the author
Jordan Crane
42 books58 followersJordan Crane is a cartoonist living in Los Angeles, CA with his wife and kids. Crane first emerged in 1996 with the iconic comics anthology NON, which he edited, designed, printed, contributed to, and published.
He has four graphic novels, The Last Lonely Saturday, Col-Dee, and The Clouds Above, and Keeping Two.
He has four graphic novels, The Last Lonely Saturday, Col-Dee, and The Clouds Above, and Keeping Two.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 430 reviews
January 7, 2023
I have liked other work by Jordan Crane, very thoughtful and often moving, but this is (thus far) his biggest project, his magnum opus, taking him twenty years to complete it, and though I knew little about it (except have seen excerpts here and there), I sat down and read it in one sitting, and am the next day reading it again. It's about a familiar moment, maybe, a couple driving in stressful traffic, one irritatingly driving, the other reading a novel aloud--about a similar couple under similar stresses.
It's not clear what is happening at all times, on first read, but Crane masterfully uses the comics medium to convey past, present, imagined fears, and in the end this book becomes almost philosophical comics--lyrical abstractions, artistic representations--in an impressive examination of their relationship, loss and love.
The title is worth discussing. There seem to be two sides to the anxiety and care, the love and the struggle, and so we see things from each of their perspectives. At one point they hear of two deaths--grandma's dog, a friend--and discuss the "death happens in threes" theory. We are anxious about this in that neither of them are good drivers. We are anxious, too, as things proceed, because the woman seems to have some suicide fantasies as she thinks of what she might do if her partner ever died.
At a glance I see some people just hate this book, finding it depressing and/or confusing. It is about moments of struggle and loss in a relationship, so yeah, not always fun. I think it is one of the best comics works of the year, for sure, Crane's best work so far, both moving and impressive.
It's not clear what is happening at all times, on first read, but Crane masterfully uses the comics medium to convey past, present, imagined fears, and in the end this book becomes almost philosophical comics--lyrical abstractions, artistic representations--in an impressive examination of their relationship, loss and love.
The title is worth discussing. There seem to be two sides to the anxiety and care, the love and the struggle, and so we see things from each of their perspectives. At one point they hear of two deaths--grandma's dog, a friend--and discuss the "death happens in threes" theory. We are anxious about this in that neither of them are good drivers. We are anxious, too, as things proceed, because the woman seems to have some suicide fantasies as she thinks of what she might do if her partner ever died.
At a glance I see some people just hate this book, finding it depressing and/or confusing. It is about moments of struggle and loss in a relationship, so yeah, not always fun. I think it is one of the best comics works of the year, for sure, Crane's best work so far, both moving and impressive.
July 17, 2022
TRIGGER WARNINGS: SUICIDE, SELF-HARM
I went into this completely blind. Not only is it my preferred way to go into books, but the book has no text on it. There's no descriptions or any kind of hints as to what lies inside. You are forced to judge it by the cover.
It's very depressing. I was surprised how dark and sad this was. So please keep that in mind if you are going to pick this up.
There are two stories - one story within another - which took a while for me to figure out. The book isn't exactly linear. The MCs are a m/f couple that fight viciously. I would go so far as to say the man is an asshole. I wouldn't stay in a relationship with him, but YMMV. They come home and find out that Tim's roommate's brother died and so did MC's mother's dog. Because the MC was a superstitious little child and still retains that, he believes three people will die. Since two 'people' - (his wife? Girlfriend?) insists the mom's dog is not a 'person' - have died, a third will surely follow.
He strikes a bargain with the woman in which he will do the dishes if she goes out and gets takeout for the couple along with a movie from the local rental store. However, due to his conviction that deaths (or bad things) happen in threes, he becomes increasingly worried about his lover, getting frantic trying to call her, and imagining all sorts of horrible fates befalling her. This culminates into him getting in the car to go search for her.
...
That's the basic plot. As far as the feel of the graphic novel, it's all in a sickly green color and it is both sad and stomach-churning. Crane revels in the darkness and delights in showing us all sorts of horrible things, many deaths, murders, rapes and suicides... and other ways people can die. Be prepared.
Not only do we have our dour, viciously arguing couple, but there is a side story which apparently is a story the couple is reading which focuses on a woman who goes into labor at a grocery store while her husband is away on business. The baby dies. Both the man and woman are crushed and consumed with mourning, and in this mourning they lash out at each other and say vicious things to each other, accuse each other of being responsible for the baby's death. The woman is worse off, although both carry the thought of the dead baby around with them constantly. She vividly imagines committing suicide every single second. Be prepared for her slicing her stomach open with a butcher knife, slitting her own throat, hanging herself, blowing her brains out etc. etc. etc. etc.
This gruesome tableau combined with MC's horrific fantasies (not wanted fantasies, just ones borne of worry and anxiety) of his lover being raped, killed, shot to death etc. etc. etc. and it's making for pretty horrifying, dark, and dismal reading.
Although the ending is not as depressing as I thought it would be, that's little consolation for what was, overall, a deeply fucked-up book that I regret reading.
TL;DR
Not sure what Crane's message was here. Although the ending was hopeful and not the despair-fest I was anticipating, the overall tone of the book is quite grim. Not only is there tons of violence and despair, but all the couples are rather hateful to each other and argue viciously with each other, even though Crane is telling us they love each other. Does he think this is normal? Perhaps it is normal and I have just gotten lucky. If I argued with a man the way couples argue with each other in this book, viciously angry, cutting, and aiming to wound each other deeply, I would end the relationship, but I think Crane thinks these are strong couples who can make it. Baffling to this reader, but everyone has different life experiences, I guess.
Too violent and depressing for my tastes. I didn't enjoy it.
I went into this completely blind. Not only is it my preferred way to go into books, but the book has no text on it. There's no descriptions or any kind of hints as to what lies inside. You are forced to judge it by the cover.
It's very depressing. I was surprised how dark and sad this was. So please keep that in mind if you are going to pick this up.
There are two stories - one story within another - which took a while for me to figure out. The book isn't exactly linear. The MCs are a m/f couple that fight viciously. I would go so far as to say the man is an asshole. I wouldn't stay in a relationship with him, but YMMV. They come home and find out that Tim's roommate's brother died and so did MC's mother's dog. Because the MC was a superstitious little child and still retains that, he believes three people will die. Since two 'people' - (his wife? Girlfriend?) insists the mom's dog is not a 'person' - have died, a third will surely follow.
He strikes a bargain with the woman in which he will do the dishes if she goes out and gets takeout for the couple along with a movie from the local rental store. However, due to his conviction that deaths (or bad things) happen in threes, he becomes increasingly worried about his lover, getting frantic trying to call her, and imagining all sorts of horrible fates befalling her. This culminates into him getting in the car to go search for her.
...
That's the basic plot. As far as the feel of the graphic novel, it's all in a sickly green color and it is both sad and stomach-churning. Crane revels in the darkness and delights in showing us all sorts of horrible things, many deaths, murders, rapes and suicides... and other ways people can die. Be prepared.
Not only do we have our dour, viciously arguing couple, but there is a side story which apparently is a story the couple is reading which focuses on a woman who goes into labor at a grocery store while her husband is away on business. The baby dies. Both the man and woman are crushed and consumed with mourning, and in this mourning they lash out at each other and say vicious things to each other, accuse each other of being responsible for the baby's death. The woman is worse off, although both carry the thought of the dead baby around with them constantly. She vividly imagines committing suicide every single second. Be prepared for her slicing her stomach open with a butcher knife, slitting her own throat, hanging herself, blowing her brains out etc. etc. etc. etc.
This gruesome tableau combined with MC's horrific fantasies (not wanted fantasies, just ones borne of worry and anxiety) of his lover being raped, killed, shot to death etc. etc. etc. and it's making for pretty horrifying, dark, and dismal reading.
Although the ending is not as depressing as I thought it would be, that's little consolation for what was, overall, a deeply fucked-up book that I regret reading.
TL;DR
Not sure what Crane's message was here. Although the ending was hopeful and not the despair-fest I was anticipating, the overall tone of the book is quite grim. Not only is there tons of violence and despair, but all the couples are rather hateful to each other and argue viciously with each other, even though Crane is telling us they love each other. Does he think this is normal? Perhaps it is normal and I have just gotten lucky. If I argued with a man the way couples argue with each other in this book, viciously angry, cutting, and aiming to wound each other deeply, I would end the relationship, but I think Crane thinks these are strong couples who can make it. Baffling to this reader, but everyone has different life experiences, I guess.
Too violent and depressing for my tastes. I didn't enjoy it.
December 21, 2022
Will and Connie, a young couple returning from a trip, have a minor spat before making up. Will checks his phone messages, hears about two recent deaths and becomes fixated on the Rule of 3s - who will die next? Out of food, Connie heads out to pick up groceries for their dinner, while Will stays home and does the dishes. And then Connie doesn’t return. As the hours tick by, Will’s mind catastrophizes through the increasingly terrifying possibilities of what happened to his love. What will he do without her?
I’ve never even heard of Jordan Crane before, let alone read anything by him, but, wow - what an amazing cartoonist he is! Keeping Two is outstanding - easily the best comic I’ve read all year, and right at the end of the year too!
Whenever I find a creator whose work hits the bullseye with me I go and look them up and apparently this book is the aggregation of multiple issues of his long-running serial, Uptight, like Seth, who published his stories in his comic Palookaville before collecting them into books. And it looks like Uptight started in 2006 and only recently ended with this book coming out this year - so it’s a story 16 years in the making! Perhaps that’s why it’s so good: Crane’s taken his time and really developed his story by putting a lot of thought into it rather than rushing any part of it.
I wonder if that length of time explains why the art at the beginning of the book is so radically different from the end. Because Will and Connie practically look like babies at the start and look much more recognisably like adults by the end! I initially thought it was symbolic of the characters’ journeys: at the beginning they’re living a simple, almost child-like existence, eating snacks and dossing about, and then they go through what they go through and the experience makes them grow up, taking them out of that child-like bubble into the adulthood they’ve been ignoring. Whether it’s a case of Crane’s art changing over time (which does happen in long-running titles, like Jeff Smith’s Bone), or it’s deliberate, it fits really well.
I also liked how Crane used borders around his panels to signify when the story is “real” - the panels have a firm black line around it - and when it’s representing fantasy, memory, or the novel sequence - the panels don’t have any borders around it. Once you notice that detail, you’re able to see how effectively Crane tells his wide-ranging story by switching from inside the characters’ minds back to their present without having to resort to anything so antiquated and clunky as thought bubbles or captions.
There is another story within Will and Connie’s story too: it’s the story in the novel Connie, and then later Will, is reading, about another couple whose relationship is going through a rough patch, albeit much more painfully than what Will and Connie went through (another indication that Will and Connie are child-like adults). Dan and Claire’s baby is stillborn. Claire goes through severe depression and the two decide to go on a cruise to try and get themselves out of this mental funk they’re in.
Both storylines are compelling and complement the other in that both are about couples fighting and then, through almost losing each other, realise how much they mean to one another. Dan/Claire’s storyline depicts severe depression convincingly through some quite shocking panels as Claire imagines killing herself in a variety of ways, though I can understand why it might upset some people - this comic will definitely unsettle those of a sensitive disposition, or who have gone through similar experiences.
I really loved it though. Jordan Crane takes mundane moments and transforms them into high drama complete with a rollercoaster of emotions and a touch of profundity. It’s so impressive and inspired - a real masterpiece of a comic. I had to consciously stop myself from barrelling through it - this is the definition of a page-turning read - and slow down because it’s increasingly interesting and so masterfully put-together that the narrative flow is damn near perfect. I couldn’t recommend it more highly - the best comic of 2022!
I’ve never even heard of Jordan Crane before, let alone read anything by him, but, wow - what an amazing cartoonist he is! Keeping Two is outstanding - easily the best comic I’ve read all year, and right at the end of the year too!
Whenever I find a creator whose work hits the bullseye with me I go and look them up and apparently this book is the aggregation of multiple issues of his long-running serial, Uptight, like Seth, who published his stories in his comic Palookaville before collecting them into books. And it looks like Uptight started in 2006 and only recently ended with this book coming out this year - so it’s a story 16 years in the making! Perhaps that’s why it’s so good: Crane’s taken his time and really developed his story by putting a lot of thought into it rather than rushing any part of it.
I wonder if that length of time explains why the art at the beginning of the book is so radically different from the end. Because Will and Connie practically look like babies at the start and look much more recognisably like adults by the end! I initially thought it was symbolic of the characters’ journeys: at the beginning they’re living a simple, almost child-like existence, eating snacks and dossing about, and then they go through what they go through and the experience makes them grow up, taking them out of that child-like bubble into the adulthood they’ve been ignoring. Whether it’s a case of Crane’s art changing over time (which does happen in long-running titles, like Jeff Smith’s Bone), or it’s deliberate, it fits really well.
I also liked how Crane used borders around his panels to signify when the story is “real” - the panels have a firm black line around it - and when it’s representing fantasy, memory, or the novel sequence - the panels don’t have any borders around it. Once you notice that detail, you’re able to see how effectively Crane tells his wide-ranging story by switching from inside the characters’ minds back to their present without having to resort to anything so antiquated and clunky as thought bubbles or captions.
There is another story within Will and Connie’s story too: it’s the story in the novel Connie, and then later Will, is reading, about another couple whose relationship is going through a rough patch, albeit much more painfully than what Will and Connie went through (another indication that Will and Connie are child-like adults). Dan and Claire’s baby is stillborn. Claire goes through severe depression and the two decide to go on a cruise to try and get themselves out of this mental funk they’re in.
Both storylines are compelling and complement the other in that both are about couples fighting and then, through almost losing each other, realise how much they mean to one another. Dan/Claire’s storyline depicts severe depression convincingly through some quite shocking panels as Claire imagines killing herself in a variety of ways, though I can understand why it might upset some people - this comic will definitely unsettle those of a sensitive disposition, or who have gone through similar experiences.
I really loved it though. Jordan Crane takes mundane moments and transforms them into high drama complete with a rollercoaster of emotions and a touch of profundity. It’s so impressive and inspired - a real masterpiece of a comic. I had to consciously stop myself from barrelling through it - this is the definition of a page-turning read - and slow down because it’s increasingly interesting and so masterfully put-together that the narrative flow is damn near perfect. I couldn’t recommend it more highly - the best comic of 2022!
December 21, 2022
A man gets stuck in a spiral of catastrophic thinking when his girlfriend fails to return in a timely manner from an errand. A novel they were reading to each other during a car trip and that the man continues on his own to distract himself from the cascade of death and rape scenarios provides a story-within-a-story about a couple taking an ocean cruise in an attempt to deal with relationship issues caused by a stillbirth.
The worry and anxiety are universally recognizable, but then I have to wonder why I'd want to wallow in it with someone who can't stop, especially when the wallow seems to be the whole point of the story. And on top of the man's graphic images of worst-case scenarios, we're fed a stream of graphic images of suicidal ideation and self-harm from another character. Is the purpose to literally burn out my schadenfreude? A fresh take on torture porn horror movies? ("The calls are coming from inside your head!")
Then to really piss me off, it ends with a stupid extended psychedelic dream sequence. Thanks for wasting my time, Jordan Crane.
FOR REFERENCE
Collects material originally published in Jordan Crane's anthology Uptight (2006) #1-5 and then reprinted and continued in Keeping Two #1-8.
The worry and anxiety are universally recognizable, but then I have to wonder why I'd want to wallow in it with someone who can't stop, especially when the wallow seems to be the whole point of the story. And on top of the man's graphic images of worst-case scenarios, we're fed a stream of graphic images of suicidal ideation and self-harm from another character. Is the purpose to literally burn out my schadenfreude? A fresh take on torture porn horror movies? ("The calls are coming from inside your head!")
Then to really piss me off, it ends with a stupid extended psychedelic dream sequence. Thanks for wasting my time, Jordan Crane.
FOR REFERENCE
Collects material originally published in Jordan Crane's anthology Uptight (2006) #1-5 and then reprinted and continued in Keeping Two #1-8.
March 5, 2025
ouch. this book is a painful little thing.
i went into it blind and read it in one sitting, which i think is ideal. it's good to consume almost like a fever dream, this sad graphic novel about grief and the fear of losing your person. the sense of dread when there is a death close to you, then another. deaths come in threes, don't they?
the story is often confusing, jumping between quiet reality and anxious imagined events, along with a tragic book within the book. but once i was able to go with the flow, i let the story take me. i needed a hug after i read it.
i went into it blind and read it in one sitting, which i think is ideal. it's good to consume almost like a fever dream, this sad graphic novel about grief and the fear of losing your person. the sense of dread when there is a death close to you, then another. deaths come in threes, don't they?
the story is often confusing, jumping between quiet reality and anxious imagined events, along with a tragic book within the book. but once i was able to go with the flow, i let the story take me. i needed a hug after i read it.
Read
July 30, 2024Nuestra vida cotidiana está repleta de ficciones hipotéticas, de historias que nos contamos, de pensamientos lanzados al aire y olvidados al instante pero que tienen su propia presentación, nudo y desenlace. «¿Le habrá pasado algo malo a xxx?», «¿Qué estará haciendo xxx?», «¿Qué haría yo si no vuelvo a ver a xxx?». Esos pequeños delirios, esas autonarraciones efímeras, son muy complicadas de representar en el arte, precisamente, por lo íntimo y fugaz de su formato. Pero, sin embargo, son una presencia muy constante en nuestra mente. O, al menos, en la mía.
Pues Jordan Crane es capaz de representar gráfica y narrativamente estas pequeñas disgresiones cotidianas que, si bien casi nunca se materializan, pueden tener una importancia radical en nuestro bienestar o, incluso, en nuestra salud mental. NO TE VAYAS habla de una pareja que, después de una insignificante discusión doméstica, se pierde la pista durante tres o cuatro horas. Y en ese rato pasa todo: tanto en la realidad como en sus cabezas.
Este cómic es una obra madura y compleja capaz de intercalar varios planos de realidad y de plasmar sobre el papel un montón de sentimientos complejos y de sensaciones efímeras. Es curioso cómo un tebeo te puede ayudar a ver que no eres el único con un hilo de pensamientos tendente a un dramatismo literario absurdo. Crane elabora en este cómic una obra llena de sutilezas e ideas complejas en un formato atractivísimo y la mar de accesible.
Pues Jordan Crane es capaz de representar gráfica y narrativamente estas pequeñas disgresiones cotidianas que, si bien casi nunca se materializan, pueden tener una importancia radical en nuestro bienestar o, incluso, en nuestra salud mental. NO TE VAYAS habla de una pareja que, después de una insignificante discusión doméstica, se pierde la pista durante tres o cuatro horas. Y en ese rato pasa todo: tanto en la realidad como en sus cabezas.
Este cómic es una obra madura y compleja capaz de intercalar varios planos de realidad y de plasmar sobre el papel un montón de sentimientos complejos y de sensaciones efímeras. Es curioso cómo un tebeo te puede ayudar a ver que no eres el único con un hilo de pensamientos tendente a un dramatismo literario absurdo. Crane elabora en este cómic una obra llena de sutilezas e ideas complejas en un formato atractivísimo y la mar de accesible.
February 27, 2023
This graphic novel is incredibly compelling. I thought I would read a little bit before going to sleep, but I ended up reading the whole thing.
That does not mean I liked it.
First of all, the story setup is awful. It does not create Hitchcockian vibes or a sense of dread, as the synopsis suggests. It’s just an odd and confusing mess.
Secondly, this is a book that should have trigger warnings in the beginning. I am not fazed by a lot of the horrific fiction I read, but having violent images attached to such dark and distressing content was jarring, even for me. I cannot imagine it sitting well with most readers.
I will give the author credit for attempting to explore loss and grief, as well as the suffocating depression that often overtakes one in the midst of such things. The reason I’ve given this two stars instead of one is that I do comprehend the tremendous weights of catastrophic thinking, grief, and depression. I believe I understand what the author was angling at but, while there were a few powerful moments, I don’t think the route taken to convey these struggles was a good one.
That does not mean I liked it.
First of all, the story setup is awful. It does not create Hitchcockian vibes or a sense of dread, as the synopsis suggests. It’s just an odd and confusing mess.
Secondly, this is a book that should have trigger warnings in the beginning. I am not fazed by a lot of the horrific fiction I read, but having violent images attached to such dark and distressing content was jarring, even for me. I cannot imagine it sitting well with most readers.
I will give the author credit for attempting to explore loss and grief, as well as the suffocating depression that often overtakes one in the midst of such things. The reason I’ve given this two stars instead of one is that I do comprehend the tremendous weights of catastrophic thinking, grief, and depression. I believe I understand what the author was angling at but, while there were a few powerful moments, I don’t think the route taken to convey these struggles was a good one.
August 9, 2022
Had I not read the summary for this, I would have been so very lost in the tide-like timelines.
I'm not big on romance and while this isn't technically a romance, it does focus on a couple coming down from a fight and then during four hours of separation, revving themselves right back up again.
Also, they're terrible drivers and should probably both take public transit everywhere all the time.
It's uncomfortable but not in a way that made me think, more in a way of being at an event where you're stuck with some acquaintances and they're fighting.
I'm not big on romance and while this isn't technically a romance, it does focus on a couple coming down from a fight and then during four hours of separation, revving themselves right back up again.
Also, they're terrible drivers and should probably both take public transit everywhere all the time.
It's uncomfortable but not in a way that made me think, more in a way of being at an event where you're stuck with some acquaintances and they're fighting.
July 18, 2022
I feel like Crane has been working on this book FOREVER! I remember buying screen-printed minis of the early chapters and getting very invested in the story. Some of it was serialized in his UPTIGHT series as well. At some point, I missed a few chapters (and when I tried to find them online, they were sold out). It's one of those loose threads that has always nagged at me.
So, I'm delighted to have the complete story collected here. The presentation is gorgeous. Little details like rounded corners, debossed elements in the cover, and (confusing to me, but interesting) a little author name card glued onto the endpapers show that Fantagraphics went the extra mile to highlight this being a special book.
Crane takes full advantage of the comics medium, using different style panel borders to indicate flashbacks, imagined scenarios, and a story-within-a-story, floating letters and symbols to indicate various noises, superimposed design elements to heighten confusion, distress, etc. I should also note how much I love Crane's character design and scenery (which includes everyday objects like stoves and kitchen faucets that are drawn with equal amounts attention to detail and simplicity). His ability to draw feet, hands, shoes, clothes, cars, and water are unparalleled.
So, I'm delighted to have the complete story collected here. The presentation is gorgeous. Little details like rounded corners, debossed elements in the cover, and (confusing to me, but interesting) a little author name card glued onto the endpapers show that Fantagraphics went the extra mile to highlight this being a special book.
Crane takes full advantage of the comics medium, using different style panel borders to indicate flashbacks, imagined scenarios, and a story-within-a-story, floating letters and symbols to indicate various noises, superimposed design elements to heighten confusion, distress, etc. I should also note how much I love Crane's character design and scenery (which includes everyday objects like stoves and kitchen faucets that are drawn with equal amounts attention to detail and simplicity). His ability to draw feet, hands, shoes, clothes, cars, and water are unparalleled.
Read
January 7, 2023No rating because I can’t honestly decide if I liked this book or not
There are some excellent parts: Will’s mind racing over the- all terrible- possibilities as to what might have happened to Connie. I just saw myself several times when my wife or daughter wouldn’t be were they were supposed to be on time- and of course wouldn’t answer their damn phones!! The Claire/Dan story within the story was emotionnaly tough too and really conveyed the guilt and depression felt by the characters. These parts are very strong but I think I appreciated them more in spirit than in execution.
Because on the downside, same scenes are most of the time overstretched and/or confusing. Since I’m a dummy it took me a while to understand the Claire/Dan storyline and the repeated scenes with Will’s mom simply eluded me. As for the very long trippy scene after the car crash it just got me out of the story altogether.
There are some excellent parts: Will’s mind racing over the- all terrible- possibilities as to what might have happened to Connie. I just saw myself several times when my wife or daughter wouldn’t be were they were supposed to be on time- and of course wouldn’t answer their damn phones!! The Claire/Dan story within the story was emotionnaly tough too and really conveyed the guilt and depression felt by the characters. These parts are very strong but I think I appreciated them more in spirit than in execution.
Because on the downside, same scenes are most of the time overstretched and/or confusing. Since I’m a dummy it took me a while to understand the Claire/Dan storyline and the repeated scenes with Will’s mom simply eluded me. As for the very long trippy scene after the car crash it just got me out of the story altogether.
January 21, 2023
This is clearly ambitious in its aims. The art work is decent, though the green colour has a queasy quality which quickly loses its appeal. This story explores the drip feed of fear and angst which can play on the mind of everyday people in everyday situations. This is bold in its aims, but I thought it totally failed in terms of enjoyability or cohesive storytelling and I was far from impressed.
March 19, 2023
This is very good and very imaginative, but should probably have a content warning for themes of death and violence. It was a sobering experience to read.
March 4, 2025
PLEASE READ THIS: if you suffer from severe anxiety, suicidal thoughts and your intrusive thoughts are so invasive they interfere with your life PLEASE reconsider reading Keeping Two. It’s a great graphic novel but it triggered the hell out of me, still I think it’s worth the time.
So painful and triggering that i’m writing this review while bawling my eyes out. lol.
Plotwise the story is pretty simple: we follow William and Connie, a couple and their struggles in the present and in the past.
They love themselves despite the hardship of life and its unfairness. I myself am in a relationship so passionate that I tend to be like William: anxious, so attached and scared to the point where I imagine my partner dying in cruel ways. Still I think that love is worth all the pain we endure in life.
The capacity of Crane of depicting past and present back and forth is astounding and not so simple. I loved his technique.
So painful and triggering that i’m writing this review while bawling my eyes out. lol.
Plotwise the story is pretty simple: we follow William and Connie, a couple and their struggles in the present and in the past.
They love themselves despite the hardship of life and its unfairness. I myself am in a relationship so passionate that I tend to be like William: anxious, so attached and scared to the point where I imagine my partner dying in cruel ways. Still I think that love is worth all the pain we endure in life.
The capacity of Crane of depicting past and present back and forth is astounding and not so simple. I loved his technique.
July 16, 2022
Wholly hypnotic and entirely heartbreaking.
I remember finding the first few installments of this story on Red Ink Like Blood well over a decade ago, getting roped into its central thematic mystery, and then waiting at the cold end of its trail for new footprints to drop. Sometimes they'd appear in the form of a new post, a few dozen digital pages at a time, or I'd happen upon an actual, physical zine installment somewhere in the wild. It felt trying to scrape together the pieces of a dream, one I'd been having for years and would occasionally have the wherewithal to jot down (to varying degrees of success). For a long while, it seemed like we'd never actually get the whole story, or if it was complete, it'd exist in disparate parts, up to some kind-hearted internet denizens to re-construct for everyone else.
But here we are! Crane came through and has handed us an overwhelming tome that fluidly blends casual superstitions, emotional hardships, painful grievances, otherworldly encounters, and the futility, frailty, and finality of our bodies, all amplified by the author's sharp, graphically cinematic sensibilities.
Take it in one sitting.
I remember finding the first few installments of this story on Red Ink Like Blood well over a decade ago, getting roped into its central thematic mystery, and then waiting at the cold end of its trail for new footprints to drop. Sometimes they'd appear in the form of a new post, a few dozen digital pages at a time, or I'd happen upon an actual, physical zine installment somewhere in the wild. It felt trying to scrape together the pieces of a dream, one I'd been having for years and would occasionally have the wherewithal to jot down (to varying degrees of success). For a long while, it seemed like we'd never actually get the whole story, or if it was complete, it'd exist in disparate parts, up to some kind-hearted internet denizens to re-construct for everyone else.
But here we are! Crane came through and has handed us an overwhelming tome that fluidly blends casual superstitions, emotional hardships, painful grievances, otherworldly encounters, and the futility, frailty, and finality of our bodies, all amplified by the author's sharp, graphically cinematic sensibilities.
Take it in one sitting.
July 30, 2022
The alternating storylines and jumping around through me a bit. But the more I read the more I was able to piece together this graphic novel. A young couple is going through a rough patch and their recent car ride has the tensions even higher. They are frazzled and annoyed with each other. They are both also reading and reacting to a book with "similar" struggles and both process that story a little differently. As the evening progresses they are both confronting their inner demons and evaluating how important they are to each other. Beautifully illustrated but at times a little tricky to figure out where the story is leading you.
May 26, 2023
3.0
I was a little lost at times, but the more I read the more I pieced it together. I found the jumping timelines a little disorienting but it wasn't an end all be all.
Reading the synopsis did really help, both with knowing what was happening and for trigger warnings.
The graphics were simple but effective, I enjoyed the aesthetic and the emotion in the art.
I was a little lost at times, but the more I read the more I pieced it together. I found the jumping timelines a little disorienting but it wasn't an end all be all.
Reading the synopsis did really help, both with knowing what was happening and for trigger warnings.
The graphics were simple but effective, I enjoyed the aesthetic and the emotion in the art.
April 9, 2024
just read this at work and had to not cry behind the counter. a very poignant, moving piece about the anxiety omnipresent in our brains - what if something bad happens, what would i do if.., how could this have gone differently if i didn’t do what i did.. etc. a moving and tearful piece for an anxious person such as myself, always occupied by things like mortality and significance. luckily it’s the most beautiful day ever so i can go stand in the sun and require myself after finishing this.
December 27, 2024
Keeping Two is a psychedelic collage of complex grief, vulnerability, and the delicate intricacies of healing post-trauma.
"...at the end, they're alive, yelling, screaming for help. And that's it. The story is over. And so afterwards, if they drown, you are drowning them."
"...at the end, they're alive, yelling, screaming for help. And that's it. The story is over. And so afterwards, if they drown, you are drowning them."
February 27, 2025
**TRIGGER WARNINGS**
Suicide, self-harm, sexual abuse, grief, infant death, and dog death.
Some of these are very fleeting, but they are still present, and there are no warnings at all on the book itself.
Suicide, self-harm, sexual abuse, grief, infant death, and dog death.
Some of these are very fleeting, but they are still present, and there are no warnings at all on the book itself.
July 12, 2025
⭐ 2.5/5
I think I liked the duality and dreariness in this book. In terms of the overall message, when I continued to read further along, it got more and more confusing. I understood the theme of love, grief, death, and loss. However, as the story progressed, I started to feel a greater disconnect.
I think I liked the duality and dreariness in this book. In terms of the overall message, when I continued to read further along, it got more and more confusing. I understood the theme of love, grief, death, and loss. However, as the story progressed, I started to feel a greater disconnect.
April 3, 2023
Keeping Two is one of those indie comics that clearly is a work of great passion, with terrific art and real depth, but it's also a total pain to read. In this case, that's because Keeping Two is just aggressively sad.
A sad-sack loser couple arrive home after an argument filled drive in wrenching traffic. One of the two decides to wash the enormous stack of filthy dishes. The other, after dumping a bag of chips on the table, decides to go get food for dinner. These people are disgusting! They brag about not wanting to quit smoking! I don't like them and yet I have to spend 316 pages caring about them.
Keeping Two plays out in alternating timelines. We see the man move through the apartment, but we also see him reminiscing about the earlier argument and fretting over why his partner is taking forever to come home. It's almost a Seinfeld episode in the lack of communication causing every problem.
Interspersed with all this gloom is the plot of a novel the two were reading, which features a woman having a miscarriage which leads to the downfall of her relationship with her husband. If the main story in Keeping Two is vaguely sad and gross, this interwoven story is maximally depressing. Holy shit, it is awful to read.
But also, holistically, Keeping Two is a cleverly crafted book. The shifting timelines rarely confuse, the art is always good, and the tale chugs along with few dull moments. So, it's a quality read. Of course, it has the classic indie comic psychedelic ending. Was it all a dream? A whisper of a ghost in the mind of a forest? Who is to know. Not the author. Or me.
A sad-sack loser couple arrive home after an argument filled drive in wrenching traffic. One of the two decides to wash the enormous stack of filthy dishes. The other, after dumping a bag of chips on the table, decides to go get food for dinner. These people are disgusting! They brag about not wanting to quit smoking! I don't like them and yet I have to spend 316 pages caring about them.
Keeping Two plays out in alternating timelines. We see the man move through the apartment, but we also see him reminiscing about the earlier argument and fretting over why his partner is taking forever to come home. It's almost a Seinfeld episode in the lack of communication causing every problem.
Interspersed with all this gloom is the plot of a novel the two were reading, which features a woman having a miscarriage which leads to the downfall of her relationship with her husband. If the main story in Keeping Two is vaguely sad and gross, this interwoven story is maximally depressing. Holy shit, it is awful to read.
But also, holistically, Keeping Two is a cleverly crafted book. The shifting timelines rarely confuse, the art is always good, and the tale chugs along with few dull moments. So, it's a quality read. Of course, it has the classic indie comic psychedelic ending. Was it all a dream? A whisper of a ghost in the mind of a forest? Who is to know. Not the author. Or me.
Read
August 17, 2023هذا العمل أخذ من صاحبه عشرين سنة في صنعه، ورغم أني أجده عملًا مدهشًا، إلّا أنني مذهولة من هذه المدة، وأتساءل لماذا أخذ كل هذا الوقت! هذه قصة بداخل قصة، وإن كنت تعتقد أن هذا هو الجزء المحير والذي قد تستصعبه فهنالك الأصعب، ففي هذه الرواية، نرى بشكل متكرر أفكار أبطال الرواية على شكل أحداث حصلت بالفعل، فتمتزج الخواطر مع الحقائق، ومن الصعب التفريق بين الإثنين طيلة الرواية، وحتى إن اتضحت الأمور شيئًا فشيئًا يبقى يرافقك شيء من الارتباك والاضطراب.
في هذه الرواية نشاهد شجار عابر بين الثنائي الأول سببه الضغط الذي يمرون به بسبب زحمة المرور، والأعصاب المشدودة التي سببتها أحداث الرواية التي كانا يتشاركان قراءتها، وفيها يمر الثنائي الأخر بمرحلة حرجة سببها وفاة طفلهما الرضيع فلا يكفان عن الشجار كطريقة لتفريغ حزنهما، رغم أن ذلك يبدو تصرف سام وغير مريح، فهو مفهوم، فهما في حالة لا يُحسدان عليها، حالة لا يقدر الإنسان على التفكير فيها بشكل مناسب، ولا الصبر وتحمل الطرف الأخر، ولا حتى تحمل نفسه.
هذه الرواية تصور اللحظات الصعبة والنزاعات بين طرفي العلاقة، القلق والحيرة والتفكير الزائد المضطرب، والكثير من الأمور العسيرة المضنية. رواية ذكية، إنسانية، وصعبة للغاية.
تحذير: الانتحار والقتل بكل الصور الممكنة، ايذاء النفس، وفاة طفل حين ولادته، حادث مرور، دماء ورسوم واقعية مزعجة.
February 14, 2025
I originally gave this book 4 stars because the themes expressed a lot of sad, intrusive thinking and as much as I liked the story, it triggered some spiraling thoughts. It was tough to get through at times, but it ended up really hitting home for me. The more I consider it in retrospect (since I can't stop thinking about it), the more I appreciate the shock factor and the cruel truth behind it all. It was an accurate depiction of how life can often be taken for granted. I ended up giving it 5 stars because like life, this book didn't make me happy 100% of the time and it emphasized a theme that we often chose to ignore or forget.
August 14, 2022
To be candid, this was not the book I should have read on a night I couldn't sleep- missing my husband, coming up on two years since his sudden, traumatic death. There's a lot to unpack here about grief, anxiety (especially when you've experienced trauma and know it can happen again), and losing those you love.
Avoided reading it for a while because the neon green monochromatic style was off-putting; surprised that this was the book that called for my attention tonight.
Avoided reading it for a while because the neon green monochromatic style was off-putting; surprised that this was the book that called for my attention tonight.
Read
May 6, 2024Enmig d'una escena quotidiana d'una parella, quan ella surt a fer una compra i no torna, ell es comença a impacientar i a projectar un munt d'escenaris catastròfics on la seva parella mor mentre torna a casa. L'angoixa és tal que surt a buscar-la i la seva parella, li passa exactament què a ell: l'angoixa la paralitza.
Un còmic visualment preciós però dolorós, sobre la pèrdua, el dol i l'angoixa.
Un còmic visualment preciós però dolorós, sobre la pèrdua, el dol i l'angoixa.
December 29, 2022
Kept getting pulled on through this often confusing story of life, loss, grief, dread, anxiety and am glad to have finished it. I understand the uses of “collapsed time” but enough is enough. I found it unnecessarily melodramatic and violent - should be possible to have the feelings without so much Drang.
December 24, 2022
This was dark, but also can be very relatable to some people.
Basically the main couple in this are having one of their arguments and the wife goes out to get some groceries while the husband stays home. During that he's reading a story which in that story it's about a husband and wife who lost their child at birth. It's sad, but it gets the main hero wondering if something happened to his wife when she's out grabbing groceries.
I think the fact the dialogue is pretty solid and feels real helps build this simple yet can be powerful story. I really enjoyed that aspect. However, it is downright sad at points and the ending was way to out of the world feel to hit the landing even if I got what he was going for.
Hard to recommend but glad I read it. A 3 out of 5.
Basically the main couple in this are having one of their arguments and the wife goes out to get some groceries while the husband stays home. During that he's reading a story which in that story it's about a husband and wife who lost their child at birth. It's sad, but it gets the main hero wondering if something happened to his wife when she's out grabbing groceries.
I think the fact the dialogue is pretty solid and feels real helps build this simple yet can be powerful story. I really enjoyed that aspect. However, it is downright sad at points and the ending was way to out of the world feel to hit the landing even if I got what he was going for.
Hard to recommend but glad I read it. A 3 out of 5.
April 8, 2024
First graphic novel as an adult (if not ever), that was so beautiful!!!
Read this with my bbs right after the solar eclipse. Quick read. Loved the green theme. Emotional roller coaster! I really loved the visual language, it was really cool how he differentiated between reality and imagination. Definitely inspired to read more graphic novels that was great.
Read this with my bbs right after the solar eclipse. Quick read. Loved the green theme. Emotional roller coaster! I really loved the visual language, it was really cool how he differentiated between reality and imagination. Definitely inspired to read more graphic novels that was great.
April 20, 2025
I didnt mean to read this in one day but I couldn't stop myself from finishing it. Jordan Crane's depiction of loss and death was beautifully heartbreaking. I can't decide what I loved more the art or the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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