Mars on Earth

Rating:
Summary: brilliant graphic novel
Review: This is not an X-Men type graphic novel. Rather, it's the story of Mars, an itinerant bowling hustler in Hollywood and the harmless life of mild vice, wild fun, and occassional loneliness he leads. Damon Cardwell, the author, succeeds by sticking to simple truths and singles to left, not grand statements and home run swings. Mars goes to a Dodgers game. He bowls. He drinks. He patronizes Mexican nudie bar with a fat German. He has a Corona-and-limes picnic with a buddy. He gets a temporary job polishing bowling trophies. He gets a haircut. Cleans his apartment. Contemplates suicide. A veritable book about nothing. It's completely charming, written in a voice that reminds one of Mars telling you himself over bottled beer in a bar. The illustrations work woderfully as well. Glenn Barr (the artist) and Cardwell connect perfectly, creating a unique collaborative vision of the anonymous (but fun) life of a nobody living in squalor in a city of beaten-down freaks. The book's out-of-print status is a crime, one compounded by the fact that its publisher actually destroyed remaining copies in an inexplicable Naziesque move. Fans of humor, of Charles Bukowski, or of idiosyncratic characterization simply cannot be disappointed by Mars On Earth. The fact that I have read it (and own it) and you do not is a shame for you. It has a little kid appeal, too: I really like the pictures!