"The Neighbors" by John Persons nails the tiny anxieties and absurd rituals of suburban life with warmth and an eye for detail. Whether it’s the neighbor who borrows a lawnmower and returns it with a mysterious dent, or the couple who treats every backyard gathering like a referendum on their lifestyle, the strip turns small social tiffs into laugh-out-loud moments. If you love comics that celebrate the awkward, tender, and hilariously petty moments that make neighborhoods feel alive, John Persons’ work is a perfect, cozy read.
John Persons is an anti-icon. He is not muscular, witty, or brave. He suffers from acid reflux, a failing marriage to a woman named Carol (who may or may not be a tulpa), and a chronic inability to sleep because his dreams are being broadcast on a frequency only crows can hear.
In issue #4 of John Persons (the 2019 one-shot "Quarterly Review"), he faces the entity that lives under the sewers. The entity offers him godhood. John Persons responds: "Do I get dental with that? No? Then I’ll take the overtime." The Neighbors John Persons Comics
This moment encapsulates the comic’s philosophy: horror is not monsters; horror is the endless, soul-crushing grind of maintenance. John Persons represents everyone who has ever looked at a collapsing world and simply sighed, "I’ll deal with it after lunch."
At first glance, "The Neighbors" appears deceptively simple. The series follows the domestic life of a middle-aged accountant named Harold and his wife, Martha, who live on the impossibly named cul-de-sac of "Hollow Grove." They have a golden retriever, a two-car garage, and a mortgage they will never pay off. "The Neighbors" by John Persons nails the tiny
The twist? Their neighbors are monsters.
Not metaphorical monsters. Actual, physical, Lovecraftian horrors. The joke of "The Neighbors," and the core
The joke of "The Neighbors," and the core of John Persons’ genius, is that Harold and Martha do not notice. They complain about The Gurgler’s leaking pipes (which are its vocal cords), they gossip about The Hive Sisters’ "unfortunate fashion sense," and they return Mr. Shivers’ tupperware without a single shiver.