Comic Reviews

Daytripper

Writer: Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá

Artist: Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá

Publisher: Vertigo

This is the first work that I have read by the Brazilian twins Moon and Bá, but it certainly won't be the last.

The comic book medium is often overlooked by "serious" readers, who pan comic books as a place for heroes and villains and their big other-worldly clashes. Well, if Fables or Sandman; Y: The Last Man or DMZ; or the myriad of other non-superhero books haven't been able to shut them up yet, maybe Daytripper will. This book is an astounding work about life & death, and the thousands of moments in between. It touches on how those fleeting moments in life, the ones that spawn furtive feelings of love & loss, or remembrance & forgiveness, really are the feelings that make up who we are. And what if every normal, mundane day were to be our last? Would they be as tragic as the next?

Each of the ten comics shows the main character of Bras de Oliva Domingos at various ages throughout his life, each one being a snapshot of a crucial moment: first kiss, first love, passing of a loved one, etc. At the culmination of each issue is the death of Bras, exemplifying that all these crucial moments are pieces of the larger, unexplainable puzzle of life. What is the difference between the mundane and extraordinary, if looked at in the same big picture?

This book is a superb work of art that searches through the human spirit and shows it in its most fragile (and beautiful) of forms.

Pros:

-The writing is dramatic, endearing, charming, tragic and soulful, all without being preachy.

-The artwork is phenomenal. Special mention must go to Dave Stewart, the inker, because the lush colors of Brazil are really shown in true form here.

-For a comic that ends with the death of the main character every issue, #10 ends perfectly.

Cons:

-None.