Self Help

Writers King (Sleeping Beauties) and Kellerman (the Clay Edison series) and artist Ignazzi (An Unkindness of Ravens) deliver a fizzy neo-noir that revels in its excess. Jerry Hauser is a down-on-his-luck ex-con and rideshare driver with an uncanny physical resemblance to obnoxious self-help guru Darren Hart, who specializes in tough love and tells his acolytes to “slap the living shit out of weakness!” When Jerry finds himself alone with Darren, he seizes the opportunity to take over the other man’s glamorous life—which turns out to be harder than it looks. Darren is engaged in illegal backroom deals and on the hook to a Finnish mobster with a hungry pet panther. Meanwhile, Jerry’s own criminal past catches up to him and his estranged family. True to its pulp playbook, the script mixes gritty and outlandish elements into a satisfying potboiler. Ignazzi’s firm, expressive linework, drenched in bold color, has a pop-art appeal similar to Sean Phillips’s noir art; she has a particular talent for giving the characters’ expressions and body language a touch of humor. Fans of crime comics ought to snap this up. (Feb.)