Dark Horse Presents 100 4 (of 5)

Short Review: Probably something here that you'll like.

The very good, the fairly good, and Harvey Pekar.

• Martha Washington: Attack of the Flesh-Eating Monsters
  Story by Frank Miller
  Art by Dave Gibbons

  Martha is working in space, when her ship loses contact, and another of unfamiliar design picks her up and... well, let's just say that Dave Gibbons will have already been familiar with the plot twist. Homage or Rip-off? We may never know, due to Miller's increasingly erratic quality level of late. Still, Gibbons' art is magnificent.

• The Night Tom Waits Poured Me A Bourbon On The Rocks
  Story by Ellen Forney & Julie Battersby
  Art by Ellen Forney

  The story is verbatim from a real life story, and is so not very interesting (you listening, Harvey?), but Ellen Forney's layouts and art show the embarrassment of someone meeting a star perfectly. It does help it you can hear Tom Waits say his lines in your head, though.

• The Symphony Of Daily Nourishment

  Story and Art by Rick Geary

  An ode to food, not written appetisingly, and illustrated to match.

• Oh My Goodness
  Story by Harvey Pekar
  Art by Joe Sacco

  Look, Harvey, Go Away. And take your profoundly uninteresting slice-of-life comics with you.

• Black Cross

  Story and Art by Chris Warner

  Another character from Dark Horse Presents 1. A poker game, some social commentary and a lot of atmosphere here. The art is gorgeous; If Chris Warner's being drawing like this for 8 years, then he's influenced a lot of people. Check out the Jill Thompson resemblance in the last panel, for example.

• Mean Mr Applehead: Violence Is Golden

  Story and Art by Brian Sendelbach

  A satire on violence, with no satire, but twice the violence.

• Bird Dog
  Story by Ed Brubaker
  Art by Pat McEown

  Two Slacker Dudes, looking for love. You could do worse.