Dead End 56

(Manifesto, 2004)
™ and © Andy Belanger

Everyone knows that when the fifty–something Chevy breaks down in the desert, it’s sabotage and that the occupants are eventually going to be the intended targets of the secretly sinister stranger who offers to lend a hand. It’s the pulp/horror genre’s own version of “the butler did it.”

Elements like this have been turned into clichés because most writers fail to take a fresh approach, but not so with Belanger’s comic. His main characters, Elvis and Marilyn prototypes at first glance, are made real by clever and witty dialogue. And the story’s narrative, from the Chevy’s point of view, believe it or not, freshens a story that could have easily and quickly become stale. The result is a story that’s so unbelievably gritty that readers will fight the urge to spit the sand out from between their teeth. Belanger’s art shows off his passion for classic Chevrolets, although his characters look a little bit too caricatured. Nonetheless, come get your kicks on Dead End 56.

— Andy Belanger

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