Happy Place

The body of Max Baitinger's alter ego is elongated and as pliable as a playdough sausage. And indeed, flexibility is demanded of this character, who works in the creative industry. Be it client acquisition or battling for access to an internet platform or just your normal, everyday craziness. And so, the title “Happy Place” and the candy colors with which the stories are drawn, appears somewhat ironic. It shows the inner life of an illustrator earning a living. He appears small inside the sleek hallways of publishing agencies; while signing his work he embodies discipline. He uses line sparingly, with clear surfaces, as though this world has no depth. Only when reading next to the bed of a sleeping child does he appear to be in his element. Life in the creative industry has rarely been drawn so stylishly concise.