Different Ugliness, Different Madness

    (Humanoids, 2005)
™ and © 2005 Humanoids, Inc. Los Angeles

Alas, the brief DC/Humanoids alliance only shipped a few emigrant works before its dissolution. Fortunately, Different Ugliness, Different Madness, Marc Malès’ thoughtful work about a woman torn by loss, and a man so repulsed by his own face he retreats from society and himself in the bargain, is one of them.

It’s not nearly so dark a book as it sounds, and much of the story is actually about the two characters learning to share beauty with each other. Nevertheless, these are people hanging off the edge of reality, and the story of their attempt to climb back up yields a beautifully humane story. It’s the rare story about friendship these days that doesn’t involve a wacky road trip, and though this book could be said to include that as well, it zeroes in on the message of any buddy tale: the people we care about will help us at our lowest point. Malès draws it all in sketchy, quick inks over careful draftsmanship that captures the supposed simplicity of the “good old days” with plenty of dirt over the surface.

— Brendan McGinley
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Cover Price: $14.99
1 copy available for $10.50 		Marc Malès. Jonathan TannerMarc Malès