When you craft a deeply moving, bittersweet, painfully resonant, obviously allegorical fable that features a protagonist who isn’t human, that’s one thing. When it features a protagonist who isn’t human and isn’t even alive yet? That’s something else altogether. In fact, it’s downright amazing.

And that’s absolutely what Jenny Zervakis’ 2016 (although it’s only just now getting some distribution) self-published mini, Out Of The Nest, is. Ostensibly a simple, somewhat sad tale of a wayward birds’ egg that rolls out of its — you guessed it —nest, in actuality this is a poignant rumination on safety and security of both the physical and emotional varieties, the fragility of life and the relationships we have during (or before) it, and loss. If that sounds like a lot to accomplish in 16 single-panel pages, well, it is — but it’s a task Zervakis accomplishes not so much with ease, but…