Samnoir turned me onto this series, probably the first comic book I've read in a couple of years. An unabashed tale of the comic industry with the names changed, I'm a sucker for insider tales and gossip.
Ultimately, I enjoyed it but it has its flaws, it's slightly hard to follow through its time hops, so many characters and well, Chaykin gives his faces a sameness that had me flipping back and forth to the glossary.
This was my problem but i became obsessed with who everybody really is, you can easily suss out Lee, Kane, Kirby but others are more difficult. I am convinced that the three protaginists are red herrings, almagamations of creators meant to give it an arm's length.
It also has a certain slant, I'm not surprised that it takes this stance in any way but it's a little cartoony at times with it's depictions of publishers. Some of them definitely were conmen though, not disputing that. The author likely has earned his viewpoint but it does come across as a bit jaded and sick of the industry.
The one surprise is who is depicted as a creep in this, I'm not surprised at Kane, Lee or the Quesada/McFarlane digs but Eisner shocked me a little.
Worth a read if you're looking for something outside of the cape stuff but don't expect a happy ending.
Comment