Shmog is absolutely unique, unlike any comic I have ever read, and, though previous issues were fantastic, huge number 4 really transcends everything else Greg has done and raises his artistry to new levels. A series of stories intersect and overlap in Shmog, which is essentially a rich collage of parallel existences, after-the-apocalypse scenarios, and rivetting lucid moments of narrative and character development. Greg moves between plots and drawing styles effortlessly, creating not a hodgepodge but a well thought out collage of instantaneously recognizable, utterly foreign scenarios. In one vignette, a mysterious woman draws a thick black question mark on a man’s cheek. “People in this town know what this means,” she screams as she runs away. Soon, a more comic-book style illustrates two youngsters exploring an abandoned house. When they get caught, violence erupts but before things develop the scene dissolves to a netherworld where a nameless figure floats through crowded molecules in search of “some space.” Shmog is utterly compelling. A talent lurks in Kitchener as strange and menacing and wonderful as the Shmog world’s dangerous Divot Head. (Hal Niedzviecki)
comic, #4, 100 pgs, $6.50, Greg McCann, Box 31055, 25 Frederick St., Kitchner, ON, N2H 6M0