Daniel Clowes has been doing the alienated comic character thing for years, but his latest book and character, Wilson, just might one up anything he has ever done before. Wilson's story is presented as 70+ single page comics with titles like Fat Chicks, Gate 27, and Pure Bliss. Each page is a self-contained part of Wilson's larger narrative, and also a joke, making the book look and read like a series of Sunday comics. Wilson is a total asshole. Total. His unawareness, his self obsession, his blatant douchebaggery, truly are a glory to behold. He is such a perfectly constructed jerk that I worried about my own propensity towards snarky cynicism. I didn't want to identify with this guy, much less one day discover that I had become him. (Yikes!)
The Squirrel Machine
by Hans Rickheit Fantagraphics Books
Our Price: $18.99
I’m not normally a huge fan of surrealism but the exquisitely rendered weirdness of this graphic novel blew me away. Though there is generally a thread of narrative throughout, I would be hard pressed to tell you what the book is actually about. Musical instruments constructed from animal carcasses, a pig lady, a squirrel machine, a seemingly endless mansion of madness, maybe just a dash of innocence lost and you start to get the gist, but the real magic here is in the detailing of the art. So crack this puppy open and peek at its innards with one eye closed because the beautifully drawn weirdness might cause blindness.
Joe Sacco is a comics journalist. Footnotes in Gaza is his latest. Comics do not lend themselves particularly well to the immediacy of journalism and reporting. Most news stories will go cold during the time it takes to draw, ink and print the average comic, and yet, a comic (especially the way Joe Sacco constructs them) can offer a unique perspective on long and involved stories, like the Gaza Strip or Bosnia. Sacco has a gift for caricature and setting; his cartooning is as detailed as a photograph. More importantly though, he simultaneously presents personal and intimate accounts of average citizens, while giving background and historical context in concise fact-filled captions. Thus these comics feel much more informative than the television news, but still retain the intimacy and emotion that longer print journalism sometimes lacks. The Fixer is probably my favorite specific Sacco story, but all of his books are stimulating and informative.