Back home in Prince Edward Island, there's a tourist trap oddity museum that's licensed the Ripley's Believe It or Not! name. It's incredibly boring and cheesy. The Ripley's TV show strikes me as little more than freaks and breast-augmentation flirtations. So to be honest, I wasn't expecting much from Dark Horse's take on the property. As I read, I was pleasantly surprised to discover an entertaining read... and even more surprised to find it to be thoroughly informative.
A man who thought he couldn't die wanders into a billiards hall in 1948, where three other dead men enjoy a game of pool. Each one of them -- Harry Houdini, Blackbeard and Rasputin -- thought himself to be beyond the grasp of death, and each one of them learned differently. They tell their tales, and they welcome a new member into their rather odd club of historical -- and metaphysically challenged -- figures.
Cary Nord's work on this black-and-white book is some of the best he's ever done in comics. His dark style is well suited for the supernatural tone of the story. His stuff reminds me of the artwork of Tony (Starman) Harris at times, as well as the late Don (Detective Comics) Newton's. Nord captures different periods and different settings with seeming ease, and he conveys the powerful personalities of the players.
Blackman explores some larger-than-life figures from history, and he points out some interesting common bonds that they share, despite the remarkable differences in backgrounds and occupations. Real-life monsters and simple entertainers come together to tell fascinating stories. but what really draws one into the narrative is the sense of cameraderie these undead men share.
Blackman manages to blend entertainment and education with seeming ease. Footnotes? In a comic book? They work, amazingly enough, and it's due in part to the dialogue and the familiar tone in which it's presented. The footnotes don't interrupted the story; they serve as an interesting backup feature. The story and atmosphere come before the details, but they're woven seamlessly and logically into the script.
Note: This comic book was not among this week's new releases.
