Casanova Quinn is a bad guy and a thief. His sister Zephyr, on the other hand, is a good guy. She works for their father, who heads up the global law enforcement agency, E.M.P.I.R.E. It all seems fairly cut and dry… for about three pages. But then CASANOVA runs right off the rails and becomes one of the more interesting pieces of comics surrealism in recent memory. Mid-story, Casanova is universally displaced, and winds up in a version of Earth where he was the good guy who worked for E.M.P.I.R.E. and his sister is a rogue. And in this universe, his counterpart has just been killed. Now, “our” Casanova finds himself in the good graces of his father, and blackmailed by the bad guy who runs the evil organization known as W.A.S.T.E, Newman Xeno to work for the opposition. He must also deal with the unstable and seductive version of his sister in this timeline, companionship robots, an island full of savage natives who are faking their condition, a Japanese superweapon left over from the war, and a town powered by sexual energy.

There’s a lot more to CASANOVA than that, but trying to explain it would be kind of pointless; the destination isn’t even remotely the point when it comes to this book. I’m not even sure that the journey is, either. The book really seems to exist as a way for Fraction to let his imagination go bug-fuck insane on the page and let his insanely talented artistic partner to go to town in depicting it. This lovely over-sized hardcover collects the first seven issues of the series, and the first four barely come across as stories; there’s so much going on that it becomes difficult to follow. You just have to throw up your hands, invest in the madness, and go with it. And if you do, the back half of the volume turns around and makes the rest of it make decent sense, and the book pays off.

As a caveat, I would only recommend CASANOVA to the most intelligent readers, and those who have a genuine attention span. Those who look for more flash and eschew material that they can’t finish in ten minutes will hate the book. However, for those with the ability to appreciate the concept of delayed gratification, plunk down your cash on this trippy, attractive collection.

Marc Mason

THE RIDE returns to shelves in this new one-shot, though in far more subtle fashion that what most fans of the series are used to. The book made its reputation mainly on the exploits of Lexi, the teen Lolita assassin and her over-the-top action sequences. But this time around, the two stories we get are subtler and grounded, though that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Indeed, there are many things to admire and recommend about SAVANNAH.

That subtitle, SAVANNAH, carries multiple meaning in this RIDE effort. Not only do both tales take place in the lovely Georgia city of the same name, but the protagonist of the book’s second piece shares the name, too. If that wasn’t enough, however, the artists who put pencil and ink to the page to tell these stories are all students at the Savannah College of Art and Design. I had the good fortune to read and review an anthology produced by the school a couple of years ago (SENSES), and the place turns out one excellent talent after another, THE RIDE no exception. For all the well-deserved kudos that the Kubert School gets, SCAD isn’t far behind with the number of quality artists learning their craft in Georgia.

Story one follows a cop named Frank Simms who has taken on a mission for his boss: find his kidnapped daughter and bring her back. What he doesn’t know is that she’s a psychic, the real deal, and her boyfriend is determined to use her gifts for very bad ends, no matter what the cost to the girl. Ghosts and gunfire follow. The closing tale introduces a young girl named Savannah who experiences visions of her own. The most recent one showed her a young girl being bound and tossed into a river to die by a nasty-looking fellow, and Savannah is determined to find him and stop him. If only things were that easy, right?

Both pieces have a bit of the TWILIGHT ZONE undercurrent to them, but ultimately, only the first one feels as full as it should. When Frank is made an offer at the end of his story, in a very traditional moment for the type of story he’s occupying, he actually makes a smart decision rather than the one we might expect, and that alone makes the book worth a look. But if you need more incentive, proceeds from the book will go to benefit the scholarship fund at SCAD, so if you buy it, you’ll be helping the next generation of comics artists develop their craft, too. Good cause, good book; what else do you need to know?

Marc Mason

The front cover describes FERRO CITY as “robot science fiction pulp noir.” I’d describe it as “sci-fi meets THE MALTESE FALCON” to put it in simpler terms. Set in the far future, society has changed radically; millions of sentient robots are part of the mix, and they hold down jobs, have desires, pretty much live semi-human existences. And now, a law called the “Robo Sapiens Act” is up for a vote that would grant the robots full societal privileges. But forces are aligning against them: a small piece of technology called the Medusa Key has been stolen, and rumor has it that it could kill that law’s chance of passing. So into the mix comes P.I. Cyrus Smithe, as varied entities try to use him/abuse him/arrest him in their hopes of getting their hands on the Key. Hijinx included.

Armstrong’s strong suit here is definitely his ability to create a world that’s believable, even with the sci-fi trappings. You buy into FERRO CITY early, because he doesn’t give you a chance to let your mind wander and pick apart his scenario. Yes, the FALCON homage does weigh heavy on the mind of anyone reading who’s a Bogart fan, but part of the fun is in seeing how it’s executed on the page within the confines of this reality. And what makes that classic film so brilliant is watching the threads unravel and fall into place, just like any good mystery, and Armstrong does a solid job with that here.

This collection also brings together some extra story pages, along with some nice extras at the back, including a couple of short bits and pin-ups. I liked the book as it came out in pamphlet form, but I like the collection a whole lot better. It’s a keeper.

Marc Mason

You aren’t going to find many more attractive packages on the shelves this year. CONCRETE JUNGLE takes two previous HIP/ELEPHANTMEN books and brings them together in one over-sized hardcover package. Printed on thick paper that makes Ladronn’s painted work jump off the page, this is simply amazing, gorgeous stuff.

The story follows two separate paths; in one, Obadiah Horn, the Elephantman who has gained a position of prominence in human society unmatched by the rest of his brethren, must grapple with business issues and the machinations of an assassin let loose upon him by his greatest rival: the human male whose daughter he married. In the other tale, Hip Flask takes on a case that puts him on the trail of that assassin. Both plots move along at a strong pace, keeping you involved and interested, and in a rare-for-comics thing, you actually find yourself slowing down and taking more time to get through the book, simply to absorb Ladronn’s abilities and what they can do to a simple piece of paper.

CONCRETE JUNGLE only really has one flaw, and it’s that the book ends incomplete. There’s a cliffhanger on the final story page, a doozy, and it’s disappointing to get to that point and realize that you aren’t done. The majority of trade paperbacks and graphic novels are collected as such because there’s a completed story involved. On the other hand, adding more pages to the book may have priced it out of the market, as it retails for $30 at the page count it delivers here. Another 50 pages could render it unprofitable.

I started out not really enjoying the world of the ELEPHANTMEN, as the monthly comic got out of the gate slowly. But as time has passed, I’ve seen real improvement. Plus, reading a large chunk of the story under one cover makes things much clearer. It isn’t at the top of my stack every month, but it continues to rise on the strength of products like this.

Marc Mason

Image a world where the history of the United States took a wildly different turn. A world where magic was the primary import of the European settlers who came to North America. Where the elves that lived in the west were able to halt U.S. expansion. Where the Free Nation of Texas is the promised land for so many. But even the promised land needs a police force, and Texas’ is the best. Made up of wizards, elves, cowboys, and other strange creatures, the law is known as The Rangers. But the population has a different name for them: the Texas Strangers.

That rather lengthy set-up is the foundation for this cute and charming new effort from Johnston (WASTELAND), and marks what I believe to be his first foray into the world of all-ages comics. The story begins by introducing us to a brother-sister tandem, Wyatt and Jane, who have come to Texas to rid themselves of a strange knife they found in their father’s belongings. Unfortunately, being children and a bit naïve, they immediately run into trouble with a local gang, and get mixed up with two different groups of Rangers. They also manage to get thrown out of one saloon and run afoul of the owner of another. Let this be a lesson: phony I.D.s just aren’t worth it, kids.

The light, pleasant tone of the book is due in no small part to Mario Boon’s wonderful art. He has a clean, simple style that blends the unique look and populace of Texas with the kids and makes it all feel like it belongs together. The plot and story move at a steady pace, and I enjoyed the characters. Having read much of Johnston’s earlier works, this is easily my favorite of what I’ve seen out of him so far. TEXAS STRANGERS is a strong, solid debut.

Marc Mason