“A fragrance of stunning richness and complexity”

I’ve always thought of the smell of New York City as a blend of urine, exhaust, garbage, and cigarette smoke — plus the hot mechanical smell wafting up through subway grates. I think Alison Bechdel and I are sharing some bandwith here. From Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic (2006):

[Click for a larger view.]

Bechdel’s Fun Home and (the more difficult) Are You My Mother? A Comic Drama (2012) are profound graphic memoirs. I recommend them both.

The background for this panel: Village Cigars, at 110 Seventh Avenue South. The landmark store closed in 2024 after a hundred or more (?) years as a tobacco shop. In its WPA tax photograph, it was known as United Cigars.