Mister X: The Definitive Collection Volume Two

I love when I discover something I've heard absolutely nothing about. MISTER X is one of those rare things. Or, rather, was one of those rare things when I happened upon the first collection last year. Loving every page of it – even the ones accidentally duplicated in a printing mishap – I waited nearly a long year for the recently released MISTER X: THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION VOLUME TWO. For the uninitiated, MISTER X was a relatively obscure but highly influential indie comics series that was published briefly (and sporadically at that) in the 1980s, created by Dean Motter (who went on to do TERMINAL CITY for Vertigo). The bald, bespectacled Mister X is some sort of mad genius with many skeletons in his closet, but the plot doesn't matter as much as the setting – think Fritz Lang's dreamworld city of METROPOLIS. I don't know if comics have captured the German expressionist and Art Deco looks better than this puzzling, crime-minded series. The story is really secondary to the marvelous visuals, especially in this follow-up collecting the final eight issues, continuing the threads laid in the previous book. (In other words, start there.) Its plot is complex, entailing blackmail, murder and pharmaceuticals, all in a candy-colored universe that recalls the brightness of COOL WORLD, but with harsh, sharp edges and true bite. Again, it's really the art that drives it. Which is why the very last chapter disappoints, newly redrawn by Motter himself, after being unhappy with the issue that was published so long ago. The man can draw, obviously, but it's not up to the caliber of the rest of the series, which came to life under the sure hand of Seth (DRAWN AND QUARTERLY) and the Hernandez Brothers of LOVE AND ROCKETS fame. To justify the "definitive," this collection includes an eight-page story in the world of MISTER X, written and illustrated by none other than Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean, before they collaborated on the landmark SANDMAN. There's other stellar talent on display as well, courtesy of covers by the likes of Howard Chaykin and Bill Sienciewicz. –Rod Lott Buy it at Amazon.