The Fate of the Artist - Eddie Campbell

Between 1988 and 1993 I worked in a comic shop. 4 days a week surrounded by garish depictions of overly muscled costumed superheroes. Comics were having one of their periodic resurgences and there were lots of very good writers and artists crashing through into the mainstream or at least as close to the mainstream as they were comfortable getting. British writers and artists were leading the pack - Alan Moore (Swamp Thing), Neil Gaiman (Sandman), Jamie Delano & John Ridgeway (Hellblazer), Grant Morrison (Doom Patrol), Brian Talbot (Luther Arkwright) and many more were amongst our biggest sellers. Most were still pursuing the American idea of comics of the fantastical and the amazing but they were doing it really well so that was cool. In amongst all this horror and violence I one day chanced upon a graphic novel that was to move my reading habits permanently, it seems, to the slightly left of centre - for which I am eternally grateful. It was called 'The Complete Alec' and was written and drawn by Eddie Campbell.

Within it's sketchily drawn black and white pages were stories of love, loss, birth, death, childhood, adulthood, sex, incontinence, holidays, work, alcohol, philosophy and most of all the realities of friendship. 17 years later I still have my copy it gets reread every year or so. and it still makes me laugh and sigh in equal measures.
When I left the comic shop I parted company with comics - they were getting really bad by this point - and so fell out of touch with what was going on. Now and again curiosity would drag me into a comic shop. If I saw that beautiful scratchy art I would always buy it and so I had read some of Campbell's work since - the most famous being 'From Hell' - it's all been good, some of it very good ('The Cheque Mate!') but nothing has come close to replicating that original impact. Until, that is, I read 'The Fate of the Artist.' A detective story without a detective. The story of a missing person who is present throughout. An analysis of one man's life and it's impact on those around him. A peak behind the curtain and a dissection of fears, foibles, fantasies and family. As a narrative it's exemplary, as a piece of art it's sublime. A truly stunning read that doesn't so much demand your attention as deserve it.