Jim Massey has struck mini-comic gold here with a hilarious mix of charmingly simple artwork, biting political and social satire, and some good, old-fashioned, Vaudevillesque humor. Of course, calling this a mini-comic isn't entirely fair, as there certainly more to the production of this small book than an afternoon at a Kinko's with a stapler. This is the business class of mini-comics, and it's thoroughly entertaining and clever.
Picture a guy hanging out in a bar, getting sloshed with new friends and mercilessly mocking those around him. OK, the image in your mind right now is probably that of Norm from Cheers. But picture the guy as thinner -- a lot thinner -- and wearing a cloak. Now you've got an idea of what to expect from Death Takes a Holiday. Another way to describe the book would be if Dilbert featured Dogbert as Death, and focused on political and social humor rather than satirizing the stereotypical office environment and corporate behavior.
Massey's art could be described as crude, but the simplicity of his style just makes the depth of his humor all the more effective. Massey's linework is in the same vein as that of Scott (Dilbert) Adams, and the creator is more than willing to poke fun at his own artistic limitations. In the process, he transforms what could be seen as a weakness or liability into a strength.
It's easy to compare Massey's Death with the Family Guy version of the Grim Reaper, not only because both are sarcastic and farcical, but there's some common ground visually as well. I think what really makes this absurb strip work so well, though, is that just about all of the other characters are never "seen." Their dialogue originates from off-panel. There's ludicrous about the approach that enhances the humor. The "camera" never strays from Death and his -- pardon the pun -- deadpan reactions to everything that's going on around him.
Making fun of American politics these days is like sex -- it's perfectly natural and a hell of a lot of fun. The "Operation: Feral Pudding" storyline was a hoot when I read it the first time around some months ago, but the political humor resonates even more now, given how the war in Iraq grows into a great public-relations fiasco for the Bush administration with each passing week. I was also taken with Massey's brief lambasting of morose indy comics storytelling and how willing homophobes are to expose their ignorance, all in an effort to prove themselves accepting.
Note: Some of the comments in this review were reproduced from a previous feature on the website.
