Radiant Comics

I’m back from the comic shop this week and I got two new comic plus a hard cover collection:

And now for a review of something I’ve read recently.

“Murder Mysteries” by Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell

This book come out back in 2002 but I didn’t get it until recently. That’s probably because I’m not a big fan of Gaiman’s writing. Not that I think it’s bad but I find the stuff he tends to write about goofy. Gods, living embodiments of stuff, and mystical characters as word concepts. I just don’t care.

I am, on the other hand, a huge fan of Craig Russel’s artwork. I buy just about everything he does and though I admire a lot of different artists’ work somehow I’m envious of Russel’s work as I’m not of others. His drawing is so damned pretty. Plus he’s a hell of a designer and storyteller.

“Murder Mysteries” is a story within a story. The first story is about a young man, about 22 if I remember, from England who is stuck in Los Angeles, a city with which he is unfamiliar, for a week or so. He tracks down a woman he once knew and has a little fling with her. Following that he runs into a man in the park who tells him a story in exchange for a cigarette.

The man claims to once have been an angel and tells the story of the first murder mystery that happened as the creator and his angels were creating the universe. All the angels have distinct personalities based on their purposes and they are wrestling with creating concepts like love and death. This is the stuff I find really goofy. Other people love it and eat it up but I just find it silly. And I did here too.

But like I said the writing is actually good. Gaimen can plot well, turn a phrase, set a mood, define a character, and do anything else a good writer can. There is a reason he’s so popular. I just don’t appreciate his subject matter.

Russel’s art is, of course, top shelf stuff. He’s the perfect choice for drawing angels because pretty is in his wheel house. I also really liked his visualization of heaven, or wherever it was, and his visualization of the angels creating the universe. There’s a reason he’s one of my favorites.

There was a twist at the end of the story involving the English guy that I just didn’t get. I interpreted it a couple of ways but I’m not real clear on it. I’m not sure how much it had to do with the main story but it annoys me that I don’t get it. I need someone to explain it to me.

So if you’re a fan of Gaimen’s writing you’ll probably like this book. I’m not much of a fan of his but I like Russell’s work so much that I enjoyed this book. Give it a look even if it’s only to look at the pretty pictures.