cages – dave mckean

4 stars (out of 5)

so i like to pepper my reading schedule with a few comics, what are you going to do, beat me up? well i wouldn’t if i were you, because i own a copy of cages, which could easily double as a weapon seeing as how it is 500 pages long and roughly the dimensions of a phone book, not to mention hardcover as well. so i don’t think you want to be making fun of someone who could potentially reach for it and give you a swift concussion.

someone who, while you were in the dreamy state of newly-returned consciousness, would then politely point out to you the masterful talent that went into this behemoth visual work, from panels of traditional comic drawing to page-sized paintings or manipulated photography collages, and the sheer beauty of the whole thing that would easily dazzle anyone with the least hint of artistic appreciation.

someone who would then read you a selection just to cement his point, at which time the charmingly eccentric but believable characters would definitely convince you to take it all back and buy yourself a copy if it weren’t fifty dollars at retail, in which case you may just want to wait for a birthday or other gift-giving holiday and hope you have friends as generous as i do. just be sure they know well beforehand who your new favorite artist is.

yes, you definitely do not want to pick a fight with a person that has read cages, if you have any sense in you. it would be so much easier to just skip straight to reading the book on your own and save your forehead the bump.

the story itself might not take your breath away but the style and content of the images are well worth forgoing the potential pleasure one would imagine comes from beating up a comic book geek. and i won’t even tell you’ve crossed over.

[now hearing this: the roots – things fall apart.]