FIRST & FIFTEENTH: POP ART SHORT STORIES is a graphic novel unlike any other. Written and illustrated by renowned graffiti artist Steve Powers, the book is comprised of eight brief vignettes in an urban, not-unlike-NY setting. Each square page (or two-page spread) is its own bleeding panel, leading up to a punchline that – while not always funny – caps an always interesting walk to the finish.

Some of Powers’ stories are based on fact, others spring from his fertile mind, yet they all coexist nicely in the wild universe he’s created. A few feature the chemically enhanced and oft-lazy superhero known as Superfeen, more interested in smokes and shots (those administered both via glass and syringe) than saving lives. Other stories involve shoplifted hams, insurance fraud, dodgeball fights and lowlife con artists.

But with so few words, the storytelling is beside the point; FIRST & FIFTEENTH exists for art’s sake, and Powers’ work is magnificent. True to the “pop art” aesthetic, his images are clearly drawn and garishly colored, with dialogue conveyed not through word balloons, but via lettering that looks lifted from matchbook covers, grocery-store signage and classified ads. Each page simultaneously looks like it was assembled with Colorforms and like it’d look damn cool on your wall behind a frame.