Art Brut Vol. 1: The Winking Woman
W. Maxwell Prince, writer; Martín Morazzo, illustrator; Mat Lopes, colors
Image Comics, 2023

This miniseries from the creators of Ice Cream Man was first published by IDW in 2016-17 under the title The Electric Sublime. The reprint is described as “remastered,” and the re-lettering is evidently a major improvement, along with the restoration of the original intended title. Fine art is in chaos (the series opens with the Mona Lisa winking, hence the collection title). Time to call in the Bureau of Artistic Integrity and their operative Arthur Brut the Mad Dreampainter (and his trusty sidekick, Manny the Mannequin). Arthur and Manny have the ability to enter into the world of artworks so they can set things right. Problems seem to be emanating from a “sensitive” named Dylan Thompson, whose paintings become real. Plus, there’s a guy behind the madness who looks like Andy Warhol. In the end Arthur gets to the bottom of it, although there is still the possibility of a sequel. It’s a wild concept, but is not entirely unprecedented: it recalls Shaun Simon and Michael Allred’s 2015-16 Vertigo series Art Ops (as well as the Grant Morrison Doom Patrol run).  In that series, the name of the secret organization is Art Operatives (Art Ops for short), and they protect the living beings behind works of art (the Mona Lisa is a major character in their book as well). Given the close chronology, I suppose it is possible that the two series were developed independently. The whole thing has manic energy and surrealistic visuals that predict the later Ice Cream Man series, and would likely appeal to anyone who enjoys that title.

Plush
Doug Wagner, writer; Daniel Hillyard, artist; Rico Renzi, colorist; Ed Dukeshire, letterer
Image Comics, 2023

The story starts out at least somewhat normally. Devin has just broken up with his fiancée. It’s an especially hard breakup: she is pregnant with another man’s child. His roommate Levi offers to loan him a fursuit so they can attend a furry convention together. Shortly after arriving Devin starts to feel sick from the strong drink Levi gave him. When he goes out back into the alley everything changes: he sees a group of furries cannibalizing another furry attendee. After his arrest (by the deputy who knocked up his girlfriend) and a threat by the Sheriff that he will be framed if he does not marry his daughter (apparently Devin’s parents make him a good match) Devin is surprised to be rescued by the cannibals. This results in an epic battle between the police and the cannibals, who Devin has thrown in with. It is easy to root for the cannibals, since the police are clearly corrupt. But when Devin and Levi hit the road with them, seemingly cannibalism is just accepted as part of the package. Weird. The whole thing works somehow, largely due to Hillyard and Renzi’s wild artwork.

What’s the Furthest Place from Here? Vol. 2: Safe as Houses
Tyler Boss & Matthew Rosenberg, storytellers; Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, lettering
Image Comics, 2023

At the end of the first collection the family called the Academy was disbanded and its members dispersed to other families. So, this installment follows their movements, beginning with Sid’s travels (she is still pregnant, BTW). She wins a dog in an auction using the map of the known world that Slug had brought back in the previous volume. She and Oberon both wind up in the woods (with a family that wears animal masks), reuniting after she has given birth. She winds up with the Bold Ones (the kids who dress up as elders), who worship a videotape of the movie Cocoon as a god. Meanwhile, the Keepers have imprisoned Alabama and Lafayette, and the final chapters show them trying to escape. Alabama makes it out (possibly), and a broken Lafayette vows to save her. There is little real movement in this installment–in fact it is no longer clear what the main narrative is anymore–but the story is still full of small surprises and surreal details. The collection concludes with several variant covers.