This is a fascinating comic book in the way that Grant Morrison and Cameron Stewart tell a very conventional (but still compelling) story, but do so under the trappings of some rather off the wall, surrealist goings on. I hope that the off the wall stuff won't keep people from following the story, as it is a strong piece of work by both men.

At the end of the last Seaguy series, Seaguy is in a sort of idyllic world with a new talking animal sidekick (to replace his dearly departed chum, Chubby the talking floating fish). That is not really necessary to know for the new series, except to note that Seaguy is stuck in a "perfect" world that some awful things are going on behind the scenes.

The main thrust of the narrative is that Seaguy is slowly but surely becoming less willing to take the facade on its face, and this series will be about what happens when the "perfect" world around Seaguy begins to crumble. Honestly, it almost seems like a metaphor for growing up (when you realize the "truth" about the world) mixed with a general "if you give over control of your life to anyone for the sake of comfort then you run the risk of them abusing that privilege").

There is one absolutely brutal moment, both in the actual physical brutality of the scene and the emotional aspect of it when we learn of a betrayal close to Seaguy, but said betrayal leads to an act of courage that gets squashed terribly. It's probably the most effective scene in the whole comic.

To support the emotional core of the comic, Morrison and Stewart deliver a whole pile of bizarre situations and characters who populate the world that Seaguy lives in (the world controlled by Mickey Eye). It is to Stewart's great credit as an artist that there really isn't an idea odd enough for him NOT to depict it, graphically. It's a real tour de force performance by Stewart.

Here's some sample pages...











The 1/2 an animal bit is a not-so-subtle demonstration of what happens when you hand over control of your life.

After all this is and done, the series also has one of the coolest lines I've seen in a while in the awesome cliffhanger line (SPOILERS!)..."It's...it's my double! And there's three of him!"

Hilarious - and as far as cliffhanger jokes go, it's right up there with "Good thing I brought my hammer."

Recommended.