Tales of the Geeky Vixen

As any good geek is wont to do, I went to a small local convention last weekend. While there, I got to meet Charles Vess. If you're not familiar with his work, see Stardust. That, however, is not my reason for mentioning the con. Actually, let me go back a few months.

If you're an avid reader (and, really, why shouldn't you be?), you'll recall that Mr. GV and I met a local writer named Jeremy Massie. Super super nice guy, and I enjoyed talking with him. We wished him the best of luck at the time, and after reading the issue of The Deadbeat he gave us, looked forward to some time reading the rest of the series. Fast forward to last weekend. Jeremy was there with copies of his book, and we stopped to talk with him. Again, I can't stress enough the coolness of this guy. We talked for a few minutes, I picked up a copy of The Deadbeat, and even got my picture made with the Deadbeat himself. In the midst of our conversation, Jeremy was working on a sketch. (I won't reveal any details, just that it is an idea for an upcoming book.) As we talked, he said, "Hey, if I finish this before you leave, it's yours." (Like I said, cool guy.)

So on to the review. Mr. GV read The Deadbeat first, and his reaction piqued my interest enough to at least start it. Wow. It's more than I expected, especially for what is essentially a 4-issue series. I devoured the whole book in one sitting. Yes, it's that good. The story centers around the Deadbeat, a superhero who spends more time at the local watering hole than actually being a hero, and the return of his estranged daughter. Really, that's all I'm going to tell you, because it's your civic duty to pick up this book. It's funny, heartwarming, and bittersweet, with some pretty cool action to boot. I'm a fan of indie books, and the style usually associated with such books, so Massie's art is right up my alley. He does a lot with black and white, but it's simple enough not to detract from the story. And what a story. From start to finish the story keeps you engaged and wondering what's going to happen next. Not to mention what happens in the last few pages. Excuse me, I need some tissue. *Sniff sniff* Massie's very good with the whole father-daughter thing.

Long story short, go. buy. this. book. Make this guy famous, because he totally deserves it.