Everyone loves to beat up on a landlord, but the latest Next-Door Neighbor story, “Return to Sender”, looks at apartment living through an owner’s lens with empathy. Writer Jim Dougan and artist Molly Lawless thoughtfully offer the story of John Lincoln, the troubled man who once rented an apartment from Dougan in DC. It’s a truly moving portrait of a man, one that gave me pause: we all know a John Lincoln, whether he’s our neighbor or someone else’s, that person who by bad luck or bad choices, is the person we don’t want to be—and wonder how thin the line between our door and his really is. Check out the comments, where NDN contributor and graphic novel star Nick Bertozzi notes, “I need fifty more pages of John Lincoln.”

Catch up on more than 20 other true stories from the best minds of our comic generation in the NDN archives.