Maniac Killer Strikes Again!
Richard Sala
Fantagraphics Books
176 pages

This collection of various macabre short pieces by cartoonist Richard Sala is not for those of a sensitive disposition ā€“ nearly every person you meet within its pages is destined to meet an unfortunate end. Characters fall victim to deaths as varied as murder by corkscrew, falling into a vat of acid, and being struck by lightning, although Salaā€™s exaggerated art style (heā€™s also been involved in animation for MTV) keeps these deaths from being too gruesome. With the exception of the almost entirely silent My Fatherā€™s Brain, the stories feature heavy narration (violating the usual ā€?show, donā€™t tellā€¯ philosophy) and are abruptly episodic, but absorbing nonetheless. The pick of the bunch for me is the dreamlike The Thirteen Fingers, thanks largely to its surprising twist ending.

Owen Heitmann