How to describe Tozzer and the Invisible Lap Dancers? There's the high concept pitch, which is Harry Potter meets The Matrix with more Hollywood references than a Ron Zimmerman comic. There's the description of the cast, which includes a nymphomaniac 11-year-old named Hornie and a thinly-veiled Eminem clone with a tendency towards homicide. Or there's the plot, which finds the love child of David Copperfield and Claudia Schiffer leaving his trailer park home for the magical realm of Boarboils school of drama. In short, this is a f*cked-up book with twisted sensibilities, and while it is at times about as subtle as your average Adam Sandler flick, the gag-a-minute nature of the story and sheer audacity of the storytellers drew me in and entertained me throughout.
If you're one of those people who is put off by the pop-culture references made popular by the likes of Brian Michael Bendis, you will hate this book. The point of the graphic novel is mostly to spoof Hollywood culture and personalities, and there's literally not a page that goes by without a reference to an actor, actress, film or other aspect of pop culture. Fortunately, this is the kind of thing I enjoy when it's done well, and while Dunlop's names for the characters are often a bit juvenile (in the Mad magazine vein), I thought he had some funny things to say about the public personas of some of these stars.
What I have to respect in Tozzer is the fast and furious nature of the gags. Dunlop's writing reminds me of a mix between the no-holds-barred rudeness of Trey Parker and Matt Stone crossed with the rapid-fire wit of the Zucker Brothers. The characters are representative of characters they've played or the actors they represent, depending on which one is funnier and often mixing elements of both, and I notice a strong undercurrent of sex and violence played for laughs in the whole thing. Though not every gag worked for me, and I at times found the obsession with sex a little puerile, more often than not I found myself laughing despite my better nature, as Dunlop's absolute lack of shame in going for the gags paid off.
Lumby's artwork doesn't compare immediately to any style I'm used to seeing. His anatomy is exaggerated and cartoonish, which works in providing the comedic effect, but what's most impressive and probably most important is his ability with likenesses. Lumby's take on various Hollywood icons is done in a sort of caricaturish fashion, but there is never any question about who the person is supposed to be. He nails a wide variety of characters absolutely perfectly, all while conveying the madcap pacing and humor of Dunlop's script. Whatever else is true of Tozzer, this is definitely a case of a creative team in synch.
Tozzer will offer the most entertainment to those who can recognize the parallels in plotting and dialogue to Harry Potter and The Matrix, but anyone who enjoys Hollywood spoofs will probably find something to enjoy. I think it's probably impossible to read the book and not get at least one good laugh out of it.
