by @bryan-imhoff via @exploreunlimited
It's been quite a while (roughly 5 months) since my last "Exploring the Unlimited" comic book review. I'm back at it today because a great comic came along that just demands to be shared, and that book is Spencer & Locke.
It doesn't take the keen detective skills of Spencer to look at my opening paragraph and deduce a stellar review for this comic. So yeah, I'll spare you a read if you want. It's 5 stars, 2 thumbs up, wins an Oscar, annihilates the opposing team in the sportsball championship... whatever rating system you want to go by, Spencer & Locke crushes it. But please, do read on, after all... I haven't actually talked about the comic yet!
The Pitch
I attended the Baltimore Comic Convention in October of 2017. One of the exhibitor tables caught my eye and I overheard writer David Pepose deliver a quick "elevator pitch" to another con attendee. Possibly the most succinct and effective pitch I've ever heard. "It's Calvin & Hobbes meets Sin City," Pepose said.
I was still on my first pass of the show floor, but that concept echoed in my head as I wandered and I made sure to circle back a bit later in the day and pick up the trade paperback collection of the 4 issue series published by Action Lab Comics (www.actionlabcomics.com) with art by Jorge Santiago Jr (http://www.jorgesantiagojr.com). My two regrets are that I didn't talk with David longer, and that I let Spencer & Locke sit on my "to read" pile for this long.
From that brief pitch I could instantly get the concept, and it appealed to my love of "mash-ups" be it musical or genre bending storytelling. However, I wasn't prepared for the way that Pepose truly did reference the rich world of Calvin & Hobbes to amazing effect.
In the "Afterword" of the trade paperback Pepose elaborates on the pitch, stating...
"... at the end of the day, I think Spencer & Locke is a love letter.
A love letter to the creativity and craft of comics. To pioneers like Bill Watterson and Frank Miller - the spiritual godfathers of Spencer & Locke - who have forgotten more about how to make comics than I'll ever hope to know."
The Concept
Locke is a hard boiled detective in a dark, seedy, dangerous noir town. The only partner he's got watching his back in Spencer... an ominously towering anthropomorphic panther with a button eye. Of course, he really only seems imposing and competent to Locke.
In my minds eye I envisioned that's where the Calvin & Hobbes similarity would end, and the story would be a little more Fight Club and less Sunday funny papers. I was wrong.
Pepose mines the rich mythology and world of Calvin & Hobbes with so many references and unique twists on characters and situations. I would hate to call it a parody, it really is what Pepose states, a love letter. Santiago's artwork, wonderfully assisted by colorist Jasen Smith is brilliant. It's just what it needs to be to tell a hard boiled crime story while Santiago also shifts effortlessly into a style mimicking Watterson. Each issue opens with a Calvin & Hobbes style strip... although set in the much darker world of Spencer & Locke.
And it is dark.
Very dark.
And violent.
If you can't even stand to see a knockoff sticker of Calvin urinating on a car logo... this might not be the book for you. Some could perceive Spencer & Locke as sacrilige to Watterson's treasured comic strip.
But what Pepose does is use that starting point, that body of work that can be so powerful in the minds of even the most casual of comic readers, and utilize it's archetypes to build incredibly intense layers of happy surprises and emotional resonance. The contrast is jarring and effective, and Pepose's narration and dialog are phenomenal.
During the course of my reading I had multiple moments of laughing out loud, times I felt like I'd been punched in the gut, and some pages that got me a bit misty eyed as well.
By lovingly building on a great foundation, Pepose made me instantly understand and care about Spencer & Locke.
Care a lot.
I haven't even given you a plot summary. And I don't think I need to.
It's Calvin & Hobbes meets Sin City.
That's all you need to know. Except maybe where to buy it.