Generally acknowledged as one of the most important artists in underground comics history, Beyer is also one of the medium's most under-published. His last major book, Agony
, was released in the late 1980s, and his other books have been released in small editions by independent publishers. This volume collects his 1988–1996 comic strip, Amy and Jordan
, previously syndicated in only a handful of free weeklies across America. Amy and Jordan exist in a nightmarish urban landscape, and go from one awful situation to another with a combination of tragedy and laughter. Any good luck that comes their way is immediately negated by a horrible event. In one strip, Jordan learns his "good luck gland is damaged, and only the bad luck gland is working." But Beyer doesn't trivialize the horror of urban life and is never flippant; instead, his tone is accepting and humorous. Amy and Jordan always come back to keep exploring their world, no matter what happens. Beyer's work is universal at its heart, exaggerating the humor, paranoia, depression and exaltation we all feel sometimes. Every strip is unique and reads equally well as a whole composition or individual panels; the panels range from medallions on a patterned page to triangles in a zigzag pattern and everything in between. Each is a concise gem of storytelling and drawing. This work is a major release by one of the masters of the form, and is a must-have for anyone interested in the potential for profound art in the comics medium. (May 11)
