Comics Alternative

On this week’s show, Derek and Gene review three new titles. They begin with an unusual story from Conor Stechschulte, The Amateurs (Fantagraphics Books). The guys aren’t entirely sure about the narrative cohesion or the connecting events in this story — and they’re okay with that — but they’re mesmerized by the absurdist, and at times violent, paths this comic takes. This novella-length work is a strange combination of slapstick comedy, slasher horror, and existential angst. Think of Laurel and Hardy meets Waiting for Godot…but with slaughtered livestock. Next the Two Guys move on to the first issue of Ted McKeever’s new miniseries, The Superannuated Man (Image Comics).  They start off by comparing this comic to some of McKeever’s earlier works, such as Eddy Current, Plastics Forks, and Metropol, but see in its detail a more meticulously crafted art that pushes more visual boundaries. In this way, the work is quite similar to last year’s Miniature Jesus, another title with a perspective-skewing feel. What’s