In my (distant) youth, I read a prodigious number of comics – the classic comic books that once cost a dime. Yes. Long ago.

The new Graphic Novels, however, I haven't really explored yet, so I decided to pick up a few and see what's fanning all that interest.

The Fate Of The Artist caught my eye. Eddie Campbell, the artist/author, has subtitled this "An Autobiographical Novel, with Typographical Anomalies, In Which the Author Does Not Appear". Now that really caught my attention.

And it's an artistic tour de force. With vignettes, photographs, and bits of strips in a host of wildly divergent styles - each perfectly and beautifully executed - this is a treasure trove. Plot... well, there is a stream-of-consciousness narration that gives access to all of history and much of philosophy (in an amusing way), which provides a justification for this wealth of illustration. As if one were necessary. That one artist could do all this - and so well - amazes me.

Give it a try!I really enjoyed it.(And check out the bonus rendition of O. Henry's short story The Confessions of A Humorist.)