When artbomb originally launched all those years ago, there were three books in serialization that we were very excited about, so much so that we broke our own mandate to review only graphic novels. POP GUN WAR was one of those books, and I'm glad to see it collected into a graphic novel by the good folks at Dark Horse. (I also wrote that Farel Dalrymple was the type of talent that "publishers should be throwing their money at in thick tight wads" and I'm glad to see that at least one major publisher is in agreement.)
POP GUN WAR is about a young kid by the name of Sinclair who finds a pair of wings in a garbage can after they were thrown away by a tattooed angel who fell to earth and paid a construction worker to have them cut off... with a chainsaw. When Sinclair ties the wings to his back and starts wearing them around his neighborhood, he becomes the center of attention for an intriguing cast of characters that include an angry monk, a well-dressed midget, and a myopic flying fish, setting the stage for a surreal and mythic urban fantasy not seen since the conclusion of Neil Gaiman's popular Sandman series.
While Dalrymple is no stranger to comics -- having contributed for years as both creator and editor to the excellent Meathaus anthology -- POP GUN WAR is his first attempt at a long-form work. An excellent blend of art and storytelling, the only criticism I had after finishing it was that it left more questions than answers... leaving me in envy of another volume.
Peter Aaron Rose is a writer, producer and technologist who lives and works in San Francisco, CA. Under the pseudonym "Peter Siegel", he recently authored Killing Demons, a graphic novel available from Engine Press and Platinum Studios.
