Dawn: Three Tiers

(Image, 2003-2005)
™ and © Image Comics, Inc.

One of the immutable laws of comic book physics seems to be that artists like to draw pretty girls and any excuse to depict them naked, nearly naked, or just falling out of their flimsy doll–sized apparel is always keenly appreciated. Usually the results are more empty fetish object than an actual character, but thankfully after too long a hiatus, Linsner is back dealing with his principal obsession: Dawn. She may be a symbol, but she’s also all woman and she haunts Three Tiers, which has heady meditations on love, sex, war, and death. But there’s also a jagged sense of humor and empathy here for us mere humans as we flail about helplessly trying to ground ourselves in something solid. There’s a genuine story and it’s told through a series of indelible images, each a perfectly framed sequence portrait (though they also work as a series of knockout pinups). If that’s too coolly collegiate, you really need to check out the photos of the super cool Dawn action figures in the back. They’re awesome.

— S.A. Bennett

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