Marc Bell

I always loved Marc Bell's cartoon "Shrimpy and Paul" in Exclaim magazine. While I never could figure out what it was doing there its been too long. Bell's cartoon world is maybe not for everybody, a mesmerizing, schizoid-psychedelic dystopia, a "good" bad trip! In this, apparently his first stand-alone graphic novel there is more of a satirical undercurrent (at least I think... I can't be too sure, lol!). Stroppy appears to move towards becoming liberated from mechanistic industrialism, only to find himself in a frying-pan to fire situation between the senseless world of the rebel Schnauzers and the music-industry appropriation by the Mr. Potato Head like Monsieur Mustache. Ridiculous, insane, dark, wonderful!… (mais)

Hot Potatoe is a pretty amazing journey through the unique mind of Marc Bell. Given the idiosyncratic (and somewhat repetitious) aspect of his comics work, some of this material does begin to blend into a homogeneous mass after a while. If you can't appreciate Bell's style, you'll never make it all the way through these pages. On the other hand, if the quirky nature of Bell's deceptively simple drawings appeals to you, this is the sort of volume that you can dip into and always find something kooky, strange, and rewarding.… (mais)