Micrographica

Beautifully written and spare like Beckett, only far, far more entertaining, this book about four rats arguing over a ball of crap has strong indie cred but quietly channels something deeper. Moe and his friend Preston, who suffers from a swollen nose when upset, find a small crap ball, which Aldo cherishes; Moe tries to pretend he and Preston aren't interested so the loser rat will leave their plaything alone. Aldo breaks the ball, and a fat rat with eczema around its nipples persuades him to go on a journey to a mythically large pile of crap to get more. Meanwhile, Moe and Preston play on a corpse while Moe insults Preston's mother. The art is rough black lines on a white background, a stark departure from the author's usual beautifully shaded drawings, and the book resembles a little self-published thing—but the art and binding fit the story completely. Darkly funny and truly excellent, with a hint of the spiritual in its obscenity, it's reminiscent of Anders Nilsen's Dogs and Water but nastier and more likely to make you laugh. The dialogue is truly superb. (May)