Ovenman

Parker's hilarious debut introduces to the world pizza-slinging, skateboarding, tattooed antihero When Thinfinger. Drinking and stealing his way through a series of dead-end restaurant jobs, When lands a gig at Piecemeal Pizza by the Slice, the best pizza joint in his Florida town. As Ovenman—a much-coveted position, compared to Dish Dog or Front Girl—When spends his days and nights perfecting the art of slicing pies and belting out nonsense lyrics as a singer in the band Wormdevil. His girlfriend, Marigold, sleeps on his couch, convinced that her dreams of When murdering her will come true. After Piecemeal is robbed and When wakes up from a drinking binge in possession of a pizza box full of cash, he must figure out what happened, and more importantly, who else knows the truth. Though When's ne'er-do-well brooding can slow the pace, the narrative is full of surprises, dark humor and a cast of nutty eccentrics vast enough to staff a vulgar circus. (Aug. )