Nightlife, by Dale Lazarov and Bastian Johnsson, published by Bruno Gmunder

Lazarov’s third collection of wordless, gay erotic comics lives up to the standards set by his previous works. These are funny and human stories, porn fodder with recognizable and realistic scenarios and characters that reflect a diversity of types rather than an abstract porn ideal. Johnsson’s art has a clean, simple line that gives the stories an appealing, cartoony look that complements the stories nicely. Of particular appeal is the third story in the collection, “Closing Time,” featuring a casual encounter between a disparate pair of men that develops into a long term relationship. It’s a good closer to the book, a touchingly romantic moment from Lazarov, and a nicely drawn and subtle aging in the art by Johnsson.

The Chill, by Jason Starr and Mick Bertilorenzi, published by DC/Vertigo

I had high hopes for this, the first of the new “Vertigo Crime” line I held out much hope for. It’s a mystery about a serial killer, with roots in Celtic mythology and a supernatural edge. It’s exactly my kind of thing. I’d hoped for something along the lines of Phil Rickman or John Connelly. It’s not…bad, and Bertilorenzi’s art looks quite good in grey tones, and he knows when to overplay a scene for dramatic effect. But it does read, strongly, like a first effort in the comics form, the kind that would have been helped by a stronger editorial hand. It’s generally preferred in the comics format to “show not tell” but there a number of moments here when a little more exposition would have been useful. For example, when our short on personality lead suddenly decides to take the raving Irish man who might also be the lead, maybe, seriously and accept a supernatural explanation for the murders. That the book can’t quite seem to decide which character is meant to be the protagonist is problematic. While a certain amount of ambiguity is acceptable in a mystery, we don’t really have a mystery here. We know all along who is killing people, and mostly why. There isn’t even any real question as to whether the killers are using supernatural means. In this scenario, a little clarity on who we’re supposed to root for would have been helpful.

Grandville, by Bryan Talbot, published by Dark Horse

Let’s get the obvious out of the way first; this is a simply beautiful object. Textured, embossed covers, a gorgeous art deco, high-contrast design. It’s the kind of book that deserves to be faced front out on our shelves so that everyone can stop and admire it. The story delves into the kind of alternate world history that Talbot did so well in Luther Arkwright, but mixed here with a sharp, anthropomorphic design. It’s a bit like what you’d expect to get if Beatrix Potter turned her hand to gritty noir thrillers instead of children’s books. The story itself is fantastically crafted, with nice twisty conspiracy theories and political intrigues that fit the tone of the setting, while at the same time creating a nice parallel to more modern demands of mystery and thriller storytelling. The long and short of it is, this is a must have book, the sort of thing everyone who claims to love comics needs to get and spend time poring over.

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