Athos in America
3 journalers for this copy...
I first discovered Jason's offbeat, deadpan graphic novels via Isle of 100,000 Graves, and since then I've picked up as many of his books as I can find. [I've used my last Cindy McLean bookplate on this one; I'd been saving it for a special occasion {grin}.]
This hardcover is a collection of several different stories: "The Smiling Horse", "A Cat from Heaven", "The Brain That Wouldn't Virginia Woolf", "Tom Waits on the Moon", "So Long, Mary Anne", and "Athos in America". [The titles alone are a lot of fun!]
"The Smiling Horse" is a noir-crime tale, leaving out most of the details; we know there's a captive, a pair of conspirators, and an apparently vengeful "Smiling Horse", and that's about it. A sort of "essence of noir" tale.
"A Cat from Heaven" is about a curmudgeonly author whose dysfunctional relationship is falling apart. (To make things more interesting, a fan meets him later on and gushes about his work - including other "Jason" titles, suggesting that this is autobiographical! If so, I hope he's not as bad as he paints {wry grin}.)
"The Brain that Wouldn't Virginia Woolf" takes the plot of The Brain That Wouldn't Die - scientist keeps wife's head alive after she's badly injured in a car accident, and then tries to find other women whose bodies might be suitable for transplant - with the venomous dialog from "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf", for an offbeat genre-mashup.
"Tom Waits on the Moon" is a series of panels showing different characters' thoughts as they go about their regular activities, with some of the thoughts being crude, some mundane, some desperate. It becomes clear that we're seeing the same group of characters as they work through personal issues - and eventually their courses collide, to surprising - and vastly entertaining - effect. (This one's a nod to another old SF movie, but to say which would spoil the surprise.)
"So Long, Mary Anne" is a criminal-on-the-run caper, with the escaped convict being much more sympathetic than the gang boss he's after. [In case there's any doubt, we see a flunky ask the boss whose house they're burning down, and the boss says "My mother's."] This one's so dark it's almost funny at times...
"Athos in America" is just what it says - musketeer Athos has turned up in New York, aiding damsels in distress and telling his story to a bartender. Seems he came to the States because he'd heard someone was making a film about the musketeers, and who better to play himself? This one's... enigmatic.
This hardcover is a collection of several different stories: "The Smiling Horse", "A Cat from Heaven", "The Brain That Wouldn't Virginia Woolf", "Tom Waits on the Moon", "So Long, Mary Anne", and "Athos in America". [The titles alone are a lot of fun!]
"The Smiling Horse" is a noir-crime tale, leaving out most of the details; we know there's a captive, a pair of conspirators, and an apparently vengeful "Smiling Horse", and that's about it. A sort of "essence of noir" tale.
"A Cat from Heaven" is about a curmudgeonly author whose dysfunctional relationship is falling apart. (To make things more interesting, a fan meets him later on and gushes about his work - including other "Jason" titles, suggesting that this is autobiographical! If so, I hope he's not as bad as he paints {wry grin}.)
"The Brain that Wouldn't Virginia Woolf" takes the plot of The Brain That Wouldn't Die - scientist keeps wife's head alive after she's badly injured in a car accident, and then tries to find other women whose bodies might be suitable for transplant - with the venomous dialog from "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf", for an offbeat genre-mashup.
"Tom Waits on the Moon" is a series of panels showing different characters' thoughts as they go about their regular activities, with some of the thoughts being crude, some mundane, some desperate. It becomes clear that we're seeing the same group of characters as they work through personal issues - and eventually their courses collide, to surprising - and vastly entertaining - effect. (This one's a nod to another old SF movie, but to say which would spoil the surprise.)
"So Long, Mary Anne" is a criminal-on-the-run caper, with the escaped convict being much more sympathetic than the gang boss he's after. [In case there's any doubt, we see a flunky ask the boss whose house they're burning down, and the boss says "My mother's."] This one's so dark it's almost funny at times...
"Athos in America" is just what it says - musketeer Athos has turned up in New York, aiding damsels in distress and telling his story to a bartender. Seems he came to the States because he'd heard someone was making a film about the musketeers, and who better to play himself? This one's... enigmatic.
I'm sending this to BCer HI77 in Florida as part of a trade. Enjoy!
*** Released as part of the 2015 Oh the Places We Can Go challenge. ***
*** Released as part of the 2015 Oh the Places We Can Go challenge. ***
Play the harp of possibilities
beneath the moonlight,
and see who comes to the balcony.
beneath the moonlight,
and see who comes to the balcony.
hmmmm.... You know, I'm never quite sure what to make of the books by this author. A little off key and strange, they're still entertaining, even if I can't say exactly why.
Perhaps is the interesting color blocking choices on the pages? They are bold and kind of reminiscent of Impressionist work, in that it suggest a lot, though the detail really isn't there, if that makes sense.
Anyways, I wanted to read it and now I have. Of course, it was only too easy to find someone else that wanted to read this, so off it goes to give someone else weird dreams! ;P
Perhaps is the interesting color blocking choices on the pages? They are bold and kind of reminiscent of Impressionist work, in that it suggest a lot, though the detail really isn't there, if that makes sense.
Anyways, I wanted to read it and now I have. Of course, it was only too easy to find someone else that wanted to read this, so off it goes to give someone else weird dreams! ;P
Beautiful stories beautifully inked.
