Monsters
by Ken Dahl (Secret Acres)
INDIE COMICS are so relentless in their navel-gazing
that it’s hard to imagine an aspect of hipster life that hasn’t already
been done to cutesy, shaky-lined death. But Ken Dahl’s got one, in his
graphic novel Monsters: herpes!
Dahl’s autobiographical comic describes his life in the several
years after he’s been diagnosed with herpes. You’d think he had
leprosy, for all the melodrama and despair with which he approaches his
condition—he’s glum, downtrodden, convinced he’ll die without
ever having sex again. He even gets an imaginary friend, a globby,
self-interested herpes germ that counsels him to sleep around, the
better to spread the virus. It’s an improbable subject for a
full-length graphic novel, but in Dahl’s hands Monsters is
educational and deftly funny, a gentle reminder to keep
things—even STDs—in perspective. ALISON HALLETT
Old Man Logan
by Mark Millar & Steve McNiven (Marvel)
Bloody, outlandish, and a hell of a lot of fun, Old Man Logan feels like what’d happen if Sergio Leone made a Wolverine movie. Set 50
years in the future of the Marvel Universe, Old Man Logan finds
the world-weary X-Man formerly known as Wolverine scratching out a
living in the dusty, post-apocalyptic wastes of California; there and
elsewhere, the world’s supervillains have killed off almost all of the
superheroes. But soon enough, Logan sets out on a cross-country trek
that’s at once grim (world-weariness!) and preposterous (dinosaurs!
mole men! the Spider-Mobile!). Naturally, massive panels showing off
Wolverine’s MO—brutal, visceral, slice ‘n’ dice
action—ain’t too far behind. Writer Mark Millar and artist Steve
McNiven are in top form here, and with Morry Hollowell’s rich colors,
Old Man Logan looks as beautiful as it reads. ERIK HENRIKSEN
Usagi Yojimbo: Yokai
by Stan Sakai (Dark Horse)
For 25 years, the long-running comic Usagi Yojimbo has been
plugging away at the back of the Dark Horse catalog (while
Hellboy gets all the attention). Stan Sakai’s samurai epic
follows the traveling ronin Usagi on his travels as a bodyguard for
hire; that Usagi is a rabbit—that all the characters in the
series are animals—adds to the appeal but never cloys. Dark Horse
has just released an anniversary edition of the comic: A hardback, painted, full-color installment in which Usagi battles a horde of demons bent on taking
over the world. At only 58 pages, it’s a slight but gorgeous
volume—and because creator Sakai writes, draws, and letters the
series himself, it should come as no surprise that he hand-painted the
volume as well, which stands as a testament to Sakai’s dedication to
his craft. ALISON HALLETT
The Troublemakers
by Gilbert Hernandez (Fantagraphics)
Along with his brother Jamie, Gilbert Hernandez has been a mainstay
in “alternative” comics for nearly 30 years. (Their signature Love
and Rockets is now in its third volume.) Hernandez’s latest solo
work The Troublemakers is the second in a series of
self-contained graphic novel “B-movies,” featuring one of his recurring
characters, the cannonball-breasted Rosalba “Fritz” Martinez. Here,
Fritz plays Nala, one of a trio of hustlers trying to hook up with
200,000 smackers. Whether the money actually exists and who has it are
anyone’s guess in this drama-filled thriller—good for folks who
like their graphic novels grim, gritty, and sleazy. BRAD BUCKNER
