I got this fair-condition softcover online. It's a manga-format horror-story-style reimagining of the life of Mississippi blues musician Robert Johnson.

The artwork's stark but detailed, conveying emotion and mood very well. The story seems to follow Johnson's life moderately well - up to the point where he gets drunk and invokes the aid of the devil in learning how to play the blues. But the cost - as he was warned - is much higher than he meant to pay... The story plays with time and reality, with Johnson apparently having lost a significant amount of time; was he off his head somewhere, or was he some *when* else?

The story starts to get weirder when Johnson finds himself hitching a ride with a reckless young white man - who turns out to be Clyde Barrow. Not the best influence, perhaps, though the opening scenes of him and Bonnie Parker in their final moments suggests that it's they who'll pay the price for dealing with Johnson rather than the other way around.

But the flashback suggests that Johnson's not having a great time, either; he's jailed - mainly for being black - and beaten, while Clyde tries to find out what happened to him. And somehow the stress - or some other factor in his deal-with-the-devil - has caused him to sprout double the usual number of fingers from one hand, in one of the more disturbing illustrations in the book. But oh, can he play the guitar, with all those extra digits in full flight...

This volume ends on a bit of a cliffhanger; if I can find the next volume I'll certainly check it out. I appreciated the author's notes at the end of the book, too.

[There's a TV Tropes page on the manga with some interesting tidbits.]

I plan to leave this book in or near the cafe at around 4; hope the finder enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in NH here.]

*** Released for the 2017 September Sapphire release challenge. ***

*** Released for the 2017 You're Such an Animal release challenge. ***