Concrete: The Human Dilemma

(Dark Horse, 2004-2005)
™ and © Dark Horse Comics, Inc.

There have been plenty of anti-hero comics, and no small number of non–super–hero books, but Paul Chadwick may have cast in Concrete the world’s first anti–super–hero. Aliens stole Ron Lithgow’s brain and planted it in the body of a rocky giant. Surrounded by good friends, Lithgow, now called Concrete, drifts through the world with wounded eyes, collecting art and ruminating on the world in which he no longer fits. Often funny without losing its sad introspection, Concrete: The Human Dilemma sees its protagonist much more likely to combat social ills with a public awareness campaign than his stony fists. When action does strike, Concrete is either too slow, cautious, or trusting to prevent a tragedy. Remarkably realistic in its account of both the everyday and celebrity lives of its characters, Chadwick’s book also seems like a pretty accurate of the surreal existence of a concrete man.

— Brendan McGinley

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