Graphic Novels

I have been a devout reader of Burn's Black Hole comic since I first found it on the shelves a couple of years ago. That he is a mesmerizing artist goes without saying. Black Hole has a very meandering plot at times, and it gets somewhat overshadowed by it's technical virtuosity. Big Baby, while it has less scope, is much more concise and places the reader directly in the path of evil. The final story in this volume "Blood Club" is a really haunting tale that I believe is his best work. One minor note, the image above is from Blood Club but it is not the actual cover on the book...It has Big Baby playing with some toys.

Graphic storyteller Charles Burns hits his artistic and narrative stride in the three immaculately rendered black and white comics stories reprinted in this beautifully bound, library-quality volume from Fantagraphics. Originally serialized in alternative weekly newpapers in the '80s, CURSE OF THE MOLE MEN, TEEN PLAGUE, and BLOOD CLUB portray the suburbs of "Leave It to Beaver", seen through the eyes of child who can't turn away the violence and seething sexuality behind the facade. Burns is possibly the finest draftsman to come out the 80s comics underground, and integrates a Bauhaus design sense with a flair for Fifties EC horror. Highly recommended for fans of EIGHTBALL, Psychotronic films, and anyone who grew up in Fifties or early Sixties suburbia.