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Show functions as the U.S. government. This is a world devoid of decency and compassion, yet rich in stiletto heels, push-u- p corsets and garter belts. And for pure visual delight, there's Jean Giraud. His nearly words less narratives, such as 2 (Marvel. $6.95), unfold with the logic of M. C. Escher. Moe-biu- Maxine! (PlumeNew Ameri- can Library. $6.95) resembles a comic strip. But with its V spare line draw... and economical ings language, "Maxine!" comes closer to being a novel than most of the glitzy books We all the market. reaching know someone like Maxine: passionate yet flippant, heart1986 JON J MUTH MARVEL COMICS wW4"" breaking and brokenhearted; a Erotic bloodsuckers: Delicate woman who personifies trouwatercolors in Muth's 'Dracula' ble. You know, nuts. Also, she never takes off her sunglasses. Even format. the traditional gone beyond Many though publishers label almost comic-boos k works first published as comic a graphic novel, every long-fornow have been bound together for few works actually fit the term. Even Tom bookstores as well as comics outlets. Frank Englehardt, the Pantheon editor who's Miller at DC Comics has reworked "Batpublishing the Raw people, admits that man" with a vengeance. Batman: The Dark "it's just a jazzy name for people who want Returns to DC. read comics but want to call them someKnight (Warner. $12.95; $12.95) z thing better," he says. "It's still a comic. depicts Batman as an aging warrior. The POWI's are psychological. Why call it anything else?" Better yet, Miller don't call it anything. Just enjoy. and fustian tones, Through gore makes us realize how tortured a man has to John Schwartz 1987 MOEBIUS be to put on a hood and battle bad guys, vigilante style. book-lengt- h sgSBfefe word-encruste- d, , "inured to loneliness," you feel it with him. As the graphic novel has gained credibility in book respected publishing, writers have begun to dabble in the form. Perhaps the biggest literary name to go comic is Donald Barthelme, who has collaborated with graphic designer illustrator Seymour Chwast on Sam's Bar $15.95), a collection of bar tales spun against a background of woodcuts "Cheers" with a pedigree. Marvel Comics adhas published a series of science-fictioElliaptations by such authors as Harlan son and Ray Bradbury. Unfortunately, the artwork in this series rarely adds to the story. But one recent Marvel effort shines: Dracula ($6.95) by Jon J. Muth. It combines exquisite watercolors with text selections to make the horror tale both chilling and erotic the way Bram Stoker meant his old bloodsucker to be. At the same time that "respectable" artists and writers have embraced comics, a new generation of comic-booartists has (Dou-bleda- y. n k MARK uvf Ww tvv f I fz : . BOOKS 1987 I smno hew tino ut I urn ttso mwKtQ LtGi.YOWLL mH vol 02$HITOW HOHtteHimHh 'X nwottn. mini-serie- post-Goet- i t their best, grown-u- p t&m r comics such as "Dark Knight" are almost cine matic in their artistic e illusscope, blending tration with smaller frames of rapid-fir- e action sequences. full-pag- Watchmen (Warner. $14.95; DC. $14.95) gives us an apocalyptic future in which the lines separating superheroism from villany blur into chiaroscuro. While the artwork is not as well executed as "Dark Knight," the story line has the grip of a pit bull. Howard Chaykin's American Flagg! (First Comics. $14.95) has look of the grimy, jagged-edg- e the film "Blade Runner" and the cynical humor of the movie "Brazil." It's a violent, bawdy time; a corrupt corporation Agony and ecstacy: 'Raw' artist Mark Beyer's horrible humor (left), the visual delight ofMoebius (right) 40 NEWSWEEK ON CAMPUS m J. 11 - ' u OCTOBER 1987 |