Fri Dec 28, 2007 — by Glenn Hauman

Snaked, eyed: a review

Something wicked this way slithers

Are you tired of the Christmas spirit? Clifford Meth and Rufus Dayglo's Snaked is guaranteed to wash all that away.

In one of the more audacious acts of counter-programming in comics, IDW is releasing Snaked today, in the skip-ship days between December holidays. And Snaked is about as far from Christmas treacle as you can get.

If you're already a Meth addict, you probably suspected no less. Clifford Meth is a man who does benefits for Bill Loebs and Dave Cockrum-- but as a storyteller, he would take Harlan Ellison calling him bugfuck and use it as a cover pullquote. Clifford's stories have often been dark and mean and nasty and this is no exception. His story hints at, in no particular order, violence, politics, mayhem, cannibalism, September 11, the Bush Administration, the Clinton legacy, and prison rape. Rufus Dayglo's art reminds one of collages compiled from lunatics' sketches with crayons drawn on newspaper clippings of murder and corruption trials.

Like I said, the feel-good story of the season.

I wouldn't recommend this book if you're trying to smile after a few days with the in-laws*-- Snaked is a brutal piece of work. But if you're looking to dispense with plastered on holiday smiles, this book is the comics equivalent of listening to speed metal to get Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer out of your head. And that's a good thing.

* Unless you're hoping your in-laws meets the sort of fate that happens to some of the characters. And if so, I don't want to know about it.

Jump to comments (1)