By: Dave Sim (writer/artist/letters)
The Story: It’s the final chapter of Zootanapuss vs. High Fashion Models and another episode in the “death of Alex Raymond” backup.
The Review: Glamourpuss remains highly enjoyable for its bizarre nature. It’s hard to even describe what this comic is like for the uninitiated, but it’s worth checking out for everyone.
The first half of this comic continues the “duel” between Sim’s Zootanapuss character and supermodels. Each page features a model who is drawn in a highly photorealistic style. “Photorealism” can be a dirty word in comics, but (in this case) you don’t get the sense that Sim is inking over a copy of a photograph. It’s more that he had a model sitting there and copied her perfectly. Sim is an AMAZING draftsperson. If everyone were this skilled, humanity would never have invented Xerox machines. Each one of these models is posed in one of those unnatural positions you see in clothing catalogs. And then each page also features the Zootanapuss character who dresses a little like Zatanna from DC Comics: fishnets, top-coat, tall black boots, etc. But, Zootanapuss isn’t photorealistic, she’s a normal comic character with an ample bosom and hips. She’s Joan from Mad Men. And, in every panel she is giving the supermodel hell about something, “Ahoy! Rib Cage! What seekest thou in thy Louis Vuitton bag? Family-size appetite-suppressants-in-a-drum?” or “Wherefore art thou so bundled up within doors?” (to a model wearing a coat inside). All the while, Zootanapuss’ pet rabbit is making offhand jokes about vomiting in said Louis Vuitton bag and the supermodels have the most vapid dialog you could imagine.
On just a surface level, these Zootanapuss pieces are funny. “Oh, haha… She’s making fun of how silly supermodels are.” But, when you scratch a little deeper, you start to see where Sim’s genius lies: The supermodels are photorealistic. They look like Sim drew them for a catalog. They look like “real women”. Zootanapuss is cartoony and has the huge boobs and hips that everyone makes fun of in superhero comics. Yet, Zootanapuss is much more well rounded person and you’d much rather spend time with Zootanapuss rather than these women who are held up by the fashion industry as the ultimate in femininity. It’s just a big, multi-layer meta-commentary.
Now….the back-up story about Alex Raymond is something else entirely. It doesn’t have any of the acid wit of the Zootanapuss “story”. It’s just a straight-up dissection of how the death of Alex Raymond (the famous cartoonist) may not be everything we’ve originally been led to believe. It’s a lot like watching someone dissect the JFK assassination. I didn’t find it particularly enjoyable to read, but found it interesting in the same way I find conspiracy-theory websites to be a train-wreck-you-cannot-look-away-from. The one thing you cannot doubt is how much research Sim has put into this story. And….the art….oh my goodness….is the art sublime. Again, this is Sim doing his photorealistic, draftsperson thing. You look at this and marvel that it’s the same guy who drew Cerberus! Why do companies bother with models and photographers when they could just hire someone like Sim to draw their products. Maybe that’s another meta-commentary?
Conclusion: The art is stunning and Sim has some things to say too. It’s not a comic story in the traditional sense, but spending $3 on something like this that will never be sucked into an “event” and gives you a glimpse into the mind of one of our greatest living drafts people is well worth it. This comic makes a lot of other comic art look like garbage. It’s also an intensely person comic. You get the idea that Sim is just making this and doesn’t give a damn if anyone even buys it.
Grade: A-
-Dean Stell
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