Word: comix
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...bite the heads off chickens for his daily fifth of cheap booze. Along with confidence men, carnies and cops, the geek is just one of the grimy characters of William Lindsay Gresham's cult 1946 novel "Nightmare Alley," now turned into a gripping graphic novel by the veteran comix artist known as Spain...
...better than Manuel "Spain" Rodriguez at bringing a vivid cast of freaks, grifters, and phonies to their graphic realization? As one of the original coterie of "Zap" artists, Spain has been creating left-leaning comix about outcasts and the exploited since the mid-sixties. Part of a comix generation that made its reputation by breaking taboos, Spain's instinct for sensationalism - never have a smooth bust when you can have erect nipples - also perfectly match the pulp, exploitation origins of "Nightmare Alley." Drawing as he always has, with thick, black lines, Spain's technique graphically represents the dark tones...
...Spain's adaptation of "Nightmare Alley," stands out as the best crime comix I've seen in a long time. Given that the original book is now out of print (except for its inclusion in a crime novel anthology) and the 1947 movie adaptation starring Tyrone Power has never been put on tape or DVD, this book may also be the only way you get to appreciate a deservedly cult work. This is no "Hey! Rube!" Go check...
With my pith hat, khaki shorts and net I wander through the neglected jungles of comix-dom. Considered a "crackpot" by those few who even know that I am deep in-country, I hack away at the bush in search of the unknown and little-cared-for creatures that signal this system still has life. Recently, while hiding from the brutish, ape-like natives who patrol the area, I spied a new species...
...mimic those of its predecessor. A fallen ice-cream cone transposes into an eye and a nose; the fluttering wings of a bug cut to a matching close-up of the ears of the jackass. These visual puns are the equivalent of clever poetic wordplay, but unique to comix. Herpich, who's pen and ink drawings are otherwise fairly simple, has a gift for the infinitely variable patterns of comix. Through repetition and pauses, panels that repeat something from before or else contain nothing at all, Herpich bounces the reader along. Combined with his use of themes and peculiar humor...