Swoon Now! The Amazing Screw-On Head

What would the Hellboy books be like if Mike Mignola took Hellboy's subversive wit (you know the drill: nastiness introduced, Hellboy investigates, cuts a few jokes and then starts punching things) and used it as the tone for the whole story?

Welcome to The Amazing Screw-On Head & Other Curious Objects (Dark Horse). The Amazing Screw-On Head was originally published in 2002 and won an Eisner award for best humour publication (humour!!?). Long standing Mignola fans already know all about it of course and talk about with a tear in their eye and it was even adapted into animated form (trailer below). All from a story that started out as an idea for a toy: A robot head with a screw-thread neck attaches to robotic bodies and carrys out missions on behalf of President Lincon. It walks a fine line really almost reading like a pastiche of a Hellboy story which, if it had been too silly or cutting could have undermined the work he was famous for. Instead Mignola retains the sombre gothic tone that he does so well in the art - cut aways to ruined architecture, devil-like beasts - and leaves the comedic moments to the writing and pacing so when you flick through the book it looks like a regular gothic horror story but when you read it you realise that the ideas are just too mad to be taken seriously. Yes, some of the comedy comes from a familiarity with his other work but anyone will raise a smile from lines like: "It's a turnip, but my instruments indicate that there's a small parallel universe inside!" and the fact that Mr Dog (a three legged dog) leads our heroes to where they wish to go like a cross between Lassie and a sat-nav device.

The other stories in the book are a mixture in tone, from the touching Eisner Award winning (for best short story) The Magician and the Snake, the amusing, previously published but now re-drawn Abu Gung and the Beanstalk and finally two NEW, more playful stories. So there you go. Two Eisner award calibur stories, one of which is somewhat of a classic, one re-drawn story, two new stories, a gallery, plus notes and sketches all between a hard cover and for the price of a regular Hellboy book. Great Stuff.

Swoon Now! The Man With The Getaway Face & The Hot Rock

Missing 100 Bullets? Need more Criminal? Then read on: The Man With The Getaway Face (IDW) is described as the prelude to The Outfit but really its origins are a little more complex. Essentially Darwyn Cooke had decided to adapt only his favourite of Richard Stark's Parker novels the first of which, The Hunter, came out last year to a rapturous applause and made the New York Times bestsellers list. The next one up for the treatment is The Outfit but there's an important piece of information in the previous novel (The Man With...) that's necessary for the story. So Cooke 'knocked out' a super-abbreviated version of the story with the relevant information intact. It will be included in The Outfit as a prelude, but given that its not out for about three months and that it's been almost a year since Parker, it was decided to release it separately and for a knocked down price of $2 to satisfy the impatient and the curious (I'm in the former camp). And it really is worth the punt: it's an 8''x12'' over sized edition with 24 pages and it's a complete story so you really feel you're getting value for money on the product despite the fact that because of the quality of the content, including more fantastic wordless sequences, there's a very good chance you'll be buying The Outfit.

Ironically enough if you're a fan of the source - ie Richard Stark's style of crime writing - then there are in fact two titles on offer this week. Richard Stark is Donald Westlake and under this real name he wrote a series of novels about a luckless thief named John Dortmunder. And would you believe it, out the very same day was an adaptation of one of these books: The Hot Rock (Self Made Hero). Less violent, less hard boiled, Dortmunder is less of an uncompromising character. It's more about the complex heists and delicate professional relationships all conveyed with a lighter tone. The painted artwork by Lax is more detailed than Darwyn Cookes but equally impressive with a more European style of delicate lines and exaggerated body language.Artistically its interesting to see two creators displaying excellent examples of contrasting styles adapting the same writing style especially as both projects have received the thumbs up by fans of Westlake. The Hot Rock is £13 and The Man With The Getaway face is £1.40.

Swoon Now! Blacksad

Has it really been that long? A month? Aahh that's just the wait between issues of your favourite comic. Anyway, many apologies for the delay between posting. It's going to take some effort getting the momentum back covering highlighted releases of the last few weeks but for now I'd like to draw your attention to Blacksad (Dark Horse). Written by Juan Diaz Canales and with painted art by Juanjo Guarnido the first Blacksad Story was released to huge acclaim back in 2000. A simple idea - John Blacksad is a private detective who, like all the characters have animal heads - there were three stories written in total each one growing in ambition thematically (from murdered starlets in the first story to nuclear armament in the third) and this collection brings all three together for the first time. Blacksad is a glorious exercise in style and I don't mean that to sound shallow its just that the hard-boiled crime-noir style is a very familiar genre that plays to certain guidelines. However the book is simply a joy to read. The stories have heart, good characterisation and pacing whilst the painted art is beautiful brimming with detail in the backgrounds, life within each face and perfect layouts. Hopefully the anthropomorphic appraoch to the characters won't put people off because it isn't just a gimmick. Personality traits associated with particular animals are utilitsed nicely for and against type. John Blacksad's sleek black panther makes him an attractive star, a slightly down on his luck victim of fate but never the vice-ridden loser sometimes seen in such crime series. An engaging solid crime drama elevated by spectacular artwork. Available now £22.50

Presuming on his Senses! Wilson

"It's not too much to say that Clowes' best work has the emotional resonance and mordant humor of literary satires such as Portnoy's Complaint and The Catcher in the Rye." – Marc Weingarten, San Francisco Magazine "Clowes has explored the tedium and mystery of contemporary American life with more wit and insight than most novelists or filmmakers." – A.O. Scott, The New York Times A new Daniel Clowes book is something to pay attention to particularly as the likes of Ghost World and David Boring seem so long ago now. In Wilson (Drawn & Quarterly), Clowes once again exposes a character who feels dislocated from everyday life. This time the story is told in one-page, six-or-seven panel scenes. Also the art style changes throughout dipping into references to other comic artists but always managing to return enough to his own style. Given that the story takes place over several years of one mans life, Wilson feels like a book by someone wishing to reflect on cartoon history, after all every cartoonist of any note uses different styles and techniques to deal with the same important concerns regarding life and mortality. It feels, for example like Peanuts taken to the extreme, Charlie Brown all grown up (he even has his own dog, famous amongst the locals). Another artist whose work is evoked is Seth. His two most recent books - George Sprott and Wimbledon Green - use a similar structure of building the story of a characters life through seemingly random moments so that if you dip into the book it seems almost lightweight but as you progress depths emerge. For example a scene later in the book shows Wilson sat with two people by a lake. This has poignancy because of something Wilson has said in an apparently throw away manner earlier in the story though Clowes is never crass enough to remind you. 

The one-page storytelling demands a punchline of some description, sometimes its a joke, sometimes its a valuable character insight. On the whole I didn't find the jokes particularly funny but, strangely that seemed to be the point as with Wilson's nihilistic, undermining of life, he sees the absurdity in everything but can't turn it into wonder and joy. It would be easy to appreciate rather than enjoy a book such this - the central character or his world isn't especially pleasant - but in many respects that is the challenge of the book for both creator and reader. It seemed to me that Clowes is trying to reach out to the unreachable, to form bonds. To make the character too sympathetic would defeat the object. Clowes even goes as far as appearing to be keeping us at arms length from Wilson by showing his moments of vulnerability by either drawing him in a more cartoon-like manner or showing him in silhouette. However your opinion of the character isn't as important as your engagement in his story and even from the opening page I felt that Clowes was always attempting to provoke a reaction. And the two white pages at the back? The quiet after the storm? The moment of health after illness that Wilson himself talks about at one point. Allowing a moment to appreciate and reflect on Wilson. The book is in hardcover, costs £13 and can be previewed here.

Presuming on his Senses! Market Day

James Sturm has earned a large amount of critical praise throughout his career from The Golem's Mighty Swing which was named as Time magazines 2004 graphic novel of the year, to Fantastic Four Unstable Molecules, his only foray into superhero comics and for which he received an Eisner Award for best limited series. He's made good use of this accolade by co-founding a Center for Cartoon Studies and The National Association of Comics Arts Educators. His latest work is Market Day (Drawn & Quarterly) which recounts a day in the life of a carpet weaver in early 1900's Eastern Europe. Mendleman rises early in the day already struggling with anxiety about the immanent birth of his first child. "Why bring life into this this?" he asks himself as he sets off on a long walk to the market to sell his rugs. Unfortunately the buyer of his rugs, a man noted for his appreciation of excellent craftsmanship has left his shop to his son-in-law who rejects Mendleman's work. Consumers, it seems now want cheaper quality mass produced goods and so continues Mendleman's existential crisis as he is unable to find a buyer for his life's work. This is a story for any creative person who finds themselves going through those dark nights of the soul confused by their purpose, struggling to maintain their creative integrity in the face of the need to make a living. "I keep moving but to what end?" he asks, walking miles to find a buyer, literally and metaphorically bowed by the weight of the rugs he carries on his back. I loved this book. The deceptively simple drawings and sparse dialogue compliment Mendleman's isolation and depression. The story apparently offers no answer to his predicament but there is more at work here. On his arrival at the market Mendleman becomes buoyant making note of the colourful characters, chatting with friends, finding passing children's energy infectious. Mendleman wonders "How would this all come together in a single rug?" He draws his inspiration from the world around him and therein lies the key. His vision of the world and what he sees in the world affects and is affected by his mood. After the bad news, Mendleman sees only the poverty and tragedy. Given Sturm's commitment to help new artists (he dedicates the book to "my fellow cartoonists") one would expect some optimism and encouragement. Sturm takes nothing away from the struggle and dilemma an artist may face but he offers something from which to take strength that lies in ones perception of the world. The book is in hardcover and costs £16.50. You can preview an excerpt here and there's a nice interview here in which Sturm mentions rather interestingly that the project started life as a children's story. Finally there's an excellent detailed analysis of the book from a Jewish perspective here.

Presuming on his Senses! Whatever Happened To The World's Fastest Man?

So what was the best superhero comic of the last few months? Which single issue managed to convey the poignancy of the heroic act? Which comic presented this inspirational figure in way that grounded them as one of us? My vote goes to Whatever Happened To The World's Fastest Man? (£3.50) from Accent UK Comics (yes, they're British).

The story begins with news that a bomb has been planted in a famous (fictional) building in London and with only one hour to go before detonation, panic spreads throughout the two mile blast zone. We then meet Bobby Doyle who immediately realises that he will have to get involved. So he stops time.

We then see a flashback that explains the cover of the comic, including the title: One day Bobby was on a train as it began to crash. He stopped time, carried everyone off the train and then started time again. The train crashed and the passengers were amazed to find themselves standing in a field except that one eyewitness claims they saw a blur of human movement...

So Bobby goes to the building and finds the bomb. Taking in the scene of chaos of experts frozen in panic and confusion, Bobby realises that he won't be able to stop the bomb. The only option left - for he is a hero - is to move every person in a two mile radius out to safety. The only problem - and here is the sacrifice - is that although time has stopped for the world, his own body clock marches on. In other words, to save as many people as possible, will take him decades to complete.

This is the most moving study of the heroic act as I have seen for sometime. Bobby never moans or complains about what has now become his life's role. His only concerns are how he will eat, that locked doors will be a problem and that he will have to carry heavier people while he is still young. The most poignant lines come near the beginning when he worries whether he will live long enough to complete his task but reassures himself that his parents are still healthy and in their fifties.

This isn't a character study. There isn't a meditation on heroism. It's simply telling a story of an act of heroism. We know next to nothing about our protagonist and the only glimpse into Bobby's character are the two decisions he makes, once at the beginning and once at the end (which I obviously won't spoil).

Of course along with the responsibility of using ones gift and the added burden of sacrifice, anonymity purifies the heroism (an act of sacrifice may be easier if fame and fortune awaits). The title rather boldly brings to mind both Alan Moore's Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow and the recent Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader. Both melancholic comics drawing on the last days of two of cultures most famous superheroes. The title here becomes ironic as not only is Bobby's identity a complete mystery, but it even fails to identify his power.

The writing by Dave West is beautifully clear and simple ("He would leave the children until he was 50") and Marleen Lowe's greyscale art is perfectly expressive. Accent UK promise that Whatever Happened... is the first title in their Blessed Cursed imprint (there may be clues about another title on the font and back cover) and I hope that it's the start of a beautiful friendship.

Presuming on his Senses! The Troublemakers

I know what you're thinking: if David Lynch and Russ Meyer had a child together who had a talent for telling stories with pictures, what would those stories be like? I'm right aren't I? Well I can put you at ease by pointing you in the direction of Gilbert Hernandez from Love & Rockets fame. Yes I know everyone loves Jaime Hernandez's clean lines and eye for character leading the story, but as there seems to be an expectation to choose I've always found myself in Gilbert's camp. By amping up the passion, violence and dipping into the absurd in his soap operas it's as if we're getting life in extra vivid colour. In the last couple of years, Gilbert has been producing work outside of the Luba and Palomar universe which ran alongside Jaime's Hopey and Maggie stories. Books such as Sloth, Speak of the Devil and the recent Citizen Rex have been story lead and genre based although they still contain an air of spontaneous plotting and an anything goes approach which has lead to mixed results.

Which brings me to The Troublemakers (Fantagraphics). Nearly. Because I need to contextualise a little. In the Luba universe there is a character named Fritz (generally recognised for her enormous bosom) who, when she was younger, starred in a few B-movies. The films were never talked about in detail but now Gilbert is releasing those movies as graphic novels. The first offering was A Chance In Hell, in which Fritz apparently only had a small role and the second is The Troublemakers which features her more prominently. So does all that background really matter? Well only in the same way that the Tarantino and Rodriguez's Planet Terror double-bill made a little more sense when you understand what they were tapping into. Also Fritz in the Luba universe speaks with a deliberate lisp (it’s a psychological game-thing) and in one panel in The Troublemakers, she slips into that lisp.

So it’s a graphic novel pretending to be a B-movie right? We get guns, wrestling women, sex, a magic necklace, losers chasing a pot of gold, double-and-triple-crossings and a sprinkling of couch psychology to give it an earnest melodrama. It’s a good companion piece to A Chance In Hell (both books have covers to put one in mind of cheap pulp novels) although it’s an easier read given the formers disturbing first third. It’s also a reasonably quick read with a plot that barely hangs together but I found myself wanting to return to it almost instantly. That’s because it doesn’t fall into pastiche. There seems to be a genuine love for the genre - as if the filmmakers behind The Troublemakers set out to make a serious movie. But then that’s part of Gilbert’s enigma: is he good a making simple things appear to have more depth or does he make stories with depth that appear simple?

It may not convert many people to his vaguely polarizing style but this B-movie conceit is a really good forum for his outrageous story instincts (not to mention his wonderful cinemascope panels) and it distances him a little from the Love & Rockets umbrella that lead to those unnecessary comparisons between him and his brother.

Go look at the 10 page preview here.

Presuming on his Senses! The Unclothed Man

Dash Shaw’s new collection titled The Unlcothed Man (Fantagraphics £15) is one of the most beautifully presented books in some time. A transparent acetate featuring the title and drawing of a man in his pants pulling off his shirt – ie an image of mundane awkwardness - covers a flowing, abstract painting suggesting the interior of a spaceship. But this cover isn’t just a pretty picture; it perfectly conveys much of Shaw’s preoccupations. Exploring the details of human behavior contrasted with the wonders of science fiction. The big and the small then.

Anyone familiar with Shaw’s work will know the hefty and impressive Bottomless Belly Button (Fantagraphics) a family drama, whilst online he has been producing work such as the sci-fi Bodyworld strip and The Unclothed Man in the 35th Century A.D animation series. The Unclothed Man book brings together some previously published work in the excellent ongoing Mome (Fantagraphics) anthology as well as other short stories and storyboards for the animation work.

From a Titanic (the movie) take on his high school days to the story about The Spitting Man, a clever cross between The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Momento (with added sci-fi of course), it's great to see a good creator at play in his work and presented with due attention by the publisher.

For more Dash Shaw and his thoughts on The Unclothed Man look here or take a further look at his animation work here. For a one-stop taster of everything look at his website.

Presuming On His Senses! Pope Hats

In September last year, a young lady came into the shop with a small press publication. Not unusual, but on this occasion she was offering the title on behalf of the creator who was American. She was very enthusiastic and told me that the author was going to be worth watching. The title was Pope Hats and the author was Ethan Rilly.

How I wish we still had some copies left. One year, one Xeric Foundation grant and a shortlist for the 2008 Doug Wright Award for Best Emerging Talent later and the Pope Hats official #1 arrived in store today. Easily the best comic out this week, it's engaging, just the right side of kooky and beautifully drawn. Fans of Daniel Clowes shouldn't pass this up. Only £2.80.


Want more? There's a podcast interview with the Ethan Rilly at Comixology.

Presuming on his Senses! Abecederia

Nobrow are making a noise publishing the abstract and one title that particularly caught our eye is Abecederia (try saying that five times). Written and drawn by the French artist Blexbolex (Bernard Granger to his friends) it tells the surreal story of two bank-robbing brothers who, whilst on the run, end up in the jungles of Katagonia in a penal colony called Abecederia. The story then becomes a twisted version of 1984 and The Island of Doctor Moreau as the brothers are forced to endure surreal, oppressive duties at the command of the mysterious Doctor Praxis. It has a hypnotically engaging narrative told in blocks of text under the wonderfully surreal, sometimes violent visuals. The use of three spot coloring strangely brings to mind old Hitchcock movie posters but with somewhat alien silhouettes. As for the title? Each page features a letter of the alphabet. And yes, I did miss that on the first reading. Only £9. Here's some more from Blexbolex:

Swoon Now! Haunt #1

Do you wish you'd been there for the beginning of Walking Dead? How about Invincible? Heck, even Astounding Wolf-man? What about Spawn? Oh you were there at the beginning for Spawn. Well anyway, here's your final warning call for Haunt #1 co-created by Todd McFarlane and Robert Kirkman and written by Mr Kirkman. It's McFarlane so think horror, ex-army and avenging demons but Kirkman will undoubtedly bring numerous slow burn pay-offs down the line.

Boo! McFarlane's characters are just as supple as ever. Only £2.10

Presuming On His Senses! Stitches & 3 Story

Our on and off again relationship with the internet has allowed me a small window into the world of recently shipped books. So before the moment passes, here's a few books I'd like to bring to your attention: David Small is better know for being a children's book illustrator. Stitches is his graphic memoir and while such books can always be in danger of slipping into mundane event-listing, Small makes his story worth telling. Nimbly tip-toeing through potentially melodramatic cliches such as difficult parents and a sickly childhood eased by a love of comics, he finds a story that resonates with the theme of finding one's voice both literally and metaphorically. Maybe the art wears its influences on its sleeve, particularly Will Eisner, but Small remembers to utilise the medium with moments of abstract. The book even managed to pull of a powerful moment that stayed with me for some time.

 

The Hospital Women's Auxilary Bridge Club (from David Small's Stitches) from Stitches: A Memoir... on Vimeo.

In 3 Story: A Secret Life of the Giant Man, Matt Kindt shows us the world of a boy who doesn't stop growing in adulthood. The interesting point with this book is that he uses three perspectives on the man's life: the first is from his mother, the second, his wife and the third I won't reveal. His intention is for the giant man to remain an enigma. We don't know what he is truly feeling or thinking. Literally, nobody can get close to him as he grows taller and this narrative device allows a sense of his isolation. This detached tone leads to an absence of true poignancy for the character (the first story is perhaps the most moving) but succeeds in making a pulpy idea very real. Jeff Lumire is a big fan of the book. Other releases include the second volume of Umbrella Academy entitled Dallas. Gerard Way continues to infuriate those who wrote him off before he'd written a word by taking us through a world that Grant Morrison probably visits twice a year for a holiday. Sprawling, ambitious and keeps the reader on their toes (as comics should). After reading recent interviews with Alan Moore where he has moaned about the comic industry, movie adaptations and even some of his old titles, the tone of 25,000 Years of Erotic Freedom is delightfully light. It's also suitably self-aware given its subject is the history of porn. If the pictures seem a little randomly thrown together it's because the text was written a few years ago. And Buffy volume 5 continues to be a crowd pleaser. Given that the writers include Jane Espenson (Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, Angel), Steven S. DeKnight (Smallville), Drew Z. Greenberg (Dexter) and Doug Petrie (CSI, Tru Calling) there should bleedin'-well be something for everyone.

Presuming on his Senses! Irredeemable

 

The idea of Superman gone bad isn't entirely original - from Watchmen to Powers volume 6 - but superhero deconstruction is always one of the more intriguing story ideas. As Grant Morrison points out in his afterword, Mark Waid loves Superman so much that it makes a funny kind of sense for him to tap into the horror of power without responsibility. And he does it so very well. There's note of genuine tension throughout this first volume of Irredeemable (Boom! Studios). No-one is safe from Plutonian's wrath and his targets seem indiscriminate making it difficult to build a strategy against him (assuming he's not listening in on your every move to start with). Below: how it all began to turn sour for Plutonian.

   

Superhero stories have predominantly focused on a reassuring notion that no matter how mean and nasty the villain, there was always a more powerful/smarter good guy ready to take them down. I'm unsure whether the idea of turning that concept on it's head says more about the warring duality in the comic industry or society itself. A supremely powerful being as the bad guy is a perfectly dramatic conceit on its own, the fact that he used to be (in all but name and appearance) Superman turns it into a tale about cynicism. Anyway, it's an entertaining, surprisingly tense read with a certain resonance. £7.50

Presuming on his Senses! That Was The Month That Was July

Who could deny that it's been a fantastic July in the world of sequential art? Things may be doom and gloom in the Marvel and DC universes what with the dead rising and villains in charge but the quality of output should be leaving a smile on the readers face.

Blackest Night has already been awarded recognition on our blog for drawing a dramatically dark curtain over the universe but it's worth mentioning again because it is shaping up to be a good event. Yes, it's a little Green Lantern-centric at the moment but it's proving to be a great jumping on point to the DC universe - as the past is literally brought back to life, old continuity clashes with the now.

Whilst DC set about setting up pins, Marvel is sowing the seeds of the fight back against the Norman Osborn reign. Nick Fury is mobilising a new Howling Commando unit in Secret Warriors, one of the stronger comics in the stable and the fugitive storyline in Invincible Iron Man has been doing so well it recently picked up the Eisner award for best ongoing series.

To top it all, both houses have gone all arty-farty with the release of Wednesday Comics and the immenant Marvel's Strange Tales. Fans of the likes of Paul Pope and Jason have an excuse to look at super-heroes and super-hero regulars get some exposure to the likes of Dash Shaw and Kyle Baker. Those familiar with both sides of the coin can get really excited. More happy faces.

In terms of graphic novels we've been graced by the release of an instant classic - that's Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli if you're new to this blog. Also worth mentioning is Parker, Darwyn Cooke's brilliant adaptation of an old-fashioned (i.e. non-PC, so brace yourself) crime/revenge thriller novel. And Tales Designed to Thrizzle by Michael Kuppeman expertly serves up abstract humour - often attempted but rarely a successfully as it is here.

So there you are: reasons to be cheerful. Invite a friend.

As for this week, our designated Exciting Release of the Week award goes to Gigantic Robot by Tom Gould, £13.

Presuming on his Senses! Blackest Night #1

Belated recognition for comic of the week as DC's Summer Event kicks off with Blackest Night #1. Preludes have been running in Green Lantern for a few months now, but don't be fooled - this is Final Crisis 2009 style (okay, okay so Final Crisis spilled over into this year but you get the point) and you can pick up the first part without being steeped in Lantern lore.

Basically there's a new colored ring on the block - black is in this Summer and you know how some superheroes and villains do actually die? Well the Black Lantern is resurrecting them and amassing his own army. It's Marvel Zombies but played straight and with higher stakes. It's dark, bloody and has some great moments. Jump on board for £2.80.

Presuming On His Senses! Asterios Polyp

Asterios Polyp comes with a certain amount of baggage: That it took so long to complete (a decade) and that David Mazzucchelli's small output as an artist has seen some of the finest books in our shop (Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: Year One, City of Glass). The word anticipation could not be used any more heavily. Unfortunatly with great anticipation comes great expectation. So what do I think of it? Ughhh! Writing something about this book is proving to be an agonizing process. It's such a vast, complex book, rich in themes and ideas and there is so much to talk about that I don't even know where to start. Fortunately it's receiving such wonderful reviews from professional opinion-makers I can drop in some handy links and strongly urge you to take a look at them. Here Mazzucchelli employs the abstract to show strangers making a connection.

   

Here's a nice example of Mazzucchelli conveying an intellectual debate whilst enforcing one of the themes that developes between Asterios and his wife.

   

In any medium, the writer/artist/filmmakers job is to find ways of externalizing their characters motivations whilst telling a compelling enough story. At the same time we hope for some insight into life - not necessarily trying to answer life's eternal riddles (that way pretentiousness lays), but to at least address them. Oh and maybe some attempt to push the boundaries of the chosen medium. Asterios Polyp is all these things. It displays the considerable talent of a creator at the height of his powers. I found it to be a stunning piece of work. Will Mazzucchelli produce another piece of work? Has he anything left to say, such is the depth of this graphic novel? I haven't used the term masterpiece before but I'm willing to make the exception here.

Presuming on his Senses! DC Brings Balance to the Week

So if you can navigate yourself around the Big Release Of The Week there were a couple of very good comics I'd like to recommend. At one end of the see-saw is Greek Street by Peter Milligan with the simple premise of re-telling Greek Mythology in a present-day London setting. It gets nasty quickly of course - imagine The Godfather with more blood, violence and immoral sex - so brace yourself. But it's a series worth investing in because anyone familiar with the source will know that there'll be no shortage of bizarre plot twists. Quibbles? Fractured story-telling to set-up a quirky environment (Grant Morrison is a fan of the comic) and the art lacks a feel for London. But Milligan is a good writer and hopefully this will prove to be the flagship series he's always lacked. Oh and it's cheap - Vertigo #1's are only $1.00.

On the other end of the see-saw is the Justice League: Cry For Justice. DC have been previewing the moody painted artwork for sometime but this actually turned out to be even better than I thought. Simply put, a few good guys have been pushed too far. Final Crisis left too many dead and as Green Lantern argues, it's about time the Justice League strived for actual justice. It's a sombre piece but thankfully not dark or overly melodramtic. Superheros pose dramatically and talk of Justice and Purpose and by cutting from Green Lantern and co. to Congo Bill via the Atom and other lesser-seen characters there's a nice feeling of cross-section. Stirs hearts like a speach from Henry V.

And then, somewhere between the two we have comic of the week for me: Batman and Robin #2. This was even better than the first. Its the Dark Knight and Boy Wonder we know and love on the outside but the characters in the costumes are different and so follows a beautifully realised struggle between Dick Grayson and Damian as their personalities clash and they resist their destiny. The dialogue is the most insightful and clear from Grant Morrison as I have ever read. As for the art, I'm still a little unsold on Frank Quitely's new scratchy art style, but he still sets a standard in the field. The first page is powerful, the fight sequences have energy and urgency, even the movement of the capes is perfect. Plus he seems to have settled on Damian's age (aided I'm sure when a character in the comic reminds us that he is ten) as it seemed to fluctuate in the first issue. Catch these Morrison/Quitely issues now as they are shaping up to be modern classics in the same company as All-Star Superman.

Presuming On His Senses! George Sprott

Isn't great when a book has a lovely, organic story of development? Seth was approached by the New York Times to contribute a regular strip. He submitted three ideas and they chose the one he admitted to being least interested in: a character study of an elderly television broadcaster who was previously an explorer. His slight aversion to the project probably stems from it being similar to his previous work, Wimbledon Green a clever character study of a legendary comic book collector told through anecdotes from the people who knew him. And this is where things started to get interesting. Aware of the need to produce smaller bite-size chunks for the serialization format and concerned that if he stuck rigidly to a narrative, readers may forget what happened in the previous episode, Seth made each published strip self contained moments in George Sprott's life and, significantly, out of chronological order. When he was finished and was considering publishing the work as a collection, he decided to maintain the non-linear storytelling but add in some extra work that the previous serialized format had not allowed. This scatter-shot approach to the story invites a meditation on time and Seth obliges with a prologue that asks metaphysical questions. Are we not made up of fractured moments and who's to say which moments have a greater impact on shaping our lives, or leave the most lasting impression when we're gone?

   

 Yes, these questions have been raised before (the most recent reminder, that of Chapter IV of Watchmen) but I've not seen the concept presented with such room to breathe. The downside is that with Seth being so non-judgmental about George Sprott we can be left feeling a little empty about him - we're not used to seeing so much detail about a character and then left to our own opinions. Also whilst the oversize format suits the scope of the subject it doesn't necessarily bring anything to the art and makes it a little cumbersome to read. Nevertheless this is an extraordinary piece of work that I feel surpasses anything he's done before. All the themes and ideas that have interested Seth regarding the struggle to make something with one's life and yearning for the past are here but George Sprott and his world are far more nuanced and the book really does succeed in conveying the random nature of memory or, as Seth suggests the non-linear nature of time.  

I also loved the photographs of buildings from the story that Seth has built out of cardboard and decorated. It was a measure of how real he felt the world of Sprott. A whole life has been captured and reflected. How do you feel about it? In Store £19

Presuming On His Senses! Sparky O'Hare

Lovely to see another title from German illustrator Mawil who produced We Can Still Be Friends last year. Unlike We Can Still... a gentle, grounded story that found humor in heartache, Sparky O'Hare: Master Electrician is pure cartoon comedy. The first smile is raised when you look at the back of the book which shows three moments of disaster in history (sinking of the Titanic etc) whilst explaining that at each event a descendant of Sparky O'Hare happened to to be an employee. Cut to the present and Sparky O'Hare - who's a rabbit by the way - starts work as a resident electrician for a small office.

Each page of the book presents a four-panel joke but there is a narrative of sorts and whilst the comedy is broad, the art appears effortlessly cute and thoroughly charming (once again). The handy, pocket-sized format of the book compliments the package perfectly. In store for £5.

Note: Apologies for the artwork examples featuring German text - the available edition is in English - but you can still get the idea of the wit and charm.