At The Factual Opinion, Tucker Stone and Michel Fiffe ponder whether LOVE AND ROCKETS #3 might just be the best comic by Jaime of all time. In which case it would be one of the greatest COMICS of all time.
Fiffe: OK, let’s see… He’s had some exemplary stories out there. Recently, too. “Browntown” does have panel after panel of heartbreak. I think the level of remorse and sympathy we may feel during this story, we may have felt in varying degrees in reading his other highlights. “Flies on the Ceiling” is one. “Everybody Loves Me, Baby” is another [Penny Century #7]. Those were my top 2. “Browntown” is just more complex, more involved, more ambitious, and structurally tighter. This is not to say that those previous works AREN’T, I’m just saying that Jaime’s just gotten better at it. Here’s an artist at the top of his form, telling some of the most mature and compelling stories in ANY medium… and the thing is, I could’ve said that 5 years ago, I could have said that 10 years ago. This new one is a masterpiece, and although I feel biased saying that because I like the Bros.’ work so much, I think it will hold up as a work of art forever. I hate to sound like I’m a soapbox or something, but this medium is tremendously lucky to have this kind of story in existence. It’s an example of not only “Pure” comics, but “Perfect” comics.
Why don’t you read it for yourself and decide?
“In which case it would be one of the greatest COMICS of all time.”
yeah, i probably should’ve mentioned that too. especially since it totally is!
We should’ve titled the piece “Stunt Casting: Giant cheeto growing out of a snickers bar”.
Great read — thanks for the link. I wrote a long comment, but FO crapped out, so I thought I’d post it here:
I’m so glad to hear other folks having the same reaction I did. I too loved this issue(?), but wondered if I felt the work so strongly because of familiarity — I’ve known these characters for 20 (!) years. But Fiffe’s related comment reassured me that, nope — the book is just that good.
Scarlet by Starlight was B-movie poetry, and I also burst into laughter at the punchline. (And yes, that was Fritz; Guadalupe confirms it later on.) But I was completely broadsided by the Jamie’s contribution. He keeps peeling away these layers of Maggie’s history, revealing who she is and why in a continuing series of resounding heartbreaks. The masochistic “I’m sorry.” slap-fantasy at the end of Chester Square has suddenly acquired whole new resonance.
In lesser hands, we would have Cathy — a fat, whiny, self-destructive loser no one has any real empathy for — but this dude just keeps topping himself. Astonishing! IMHO, his character-driven fiction is among the great literature of our age. Can’t you just imagine Browntown being discussed in a future Freshman Lit class, right alongside Bartelby the Scrivener?
it’s hard to say if that’s jaime’s best work because most of his best work is short (Flies On The Ceiling) to really short (Tear It Up, Terry Downe), but it’s a beautiful story told with masterful, clockwork precision and full of heartbreaking moments. national treasure, that guy.