By Noah Van Sciver
Publisher: Fantagraphics
ISBN: 9798875000478
Rufus Baxter is way, way past his best. He’s never shaken the meer brush of success he experienced back in the 1980s with his rock band, and remains convinced of a stature he’s simply never achieved. Bad decisions have followed bad decisions, and now he’s reaching the end of the end of the road. But there might just be one last hope to lift himself out of the pit he’s dug himself. If he doesn’t mess that up too.
This is the antithesis of Private Eye’s Celeb. The musician that never made it. He’s not very nice, he’s self-centred, unaware, and self-destructive, and yet, somehow, you don’t hate him. Van Sciver’s great at these nuanced studies, poking fun and finding humour with a subtle touch. Rufus is not without hope, and he’s not entirely the orchestrator of his own demise, but he certainly doesn’t help himself.
He’s a brilliant character study, and as he stumbles from one crisis to the next you hope for some sort of redemption despite knowing just how unlikely that will be. Not just superb cartooning, but excellent writing as well. Highly recommended.
And if you liked that: Check out Van Sciver’s book ‘As a Cartoonist’.
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