Ed Brubaker, one of my current favorite writers, is back with a new book. That's always welcome news, as his books never disappoint and he's been on quite the interesting run as of late (The H.P. Lovecraft-esque Fatale, then the 50's Hollywood epic The Fade-Out, now this). It probably helped that I didn't know what the central plot was to this. I figured it was just another crime book. The main character is a typical guy, a 28 year old grad student living with a roommate that's dating a girl he's in love with and fucking on the side. The main character attempts suicide and fails...but a demon shows up saying that he's been granted a new life. The catch? He has to kill someone every month or else he dies, hence the title. Yes, it's truly bizarre, but it works. The people he ends up killing are bad guys...so it's sort of a super-hero book? Kind of like Kick-Ass in a weird sense. Why this works, though, is fairly obvious: Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips, who have been working together forever, work wonderful together. The art is gritty and perfect. The script is typical Brubaker; brutal, cutting, funny, dark, and engrossing. After two issues who really knows where the hell this book will go, and that's kind of the beauty of it. It's strange but compelling. ***1/2
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