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Saturday, March 12, 2005 ( 3/12/2005 07:10:00 AM ) Bill S.  LIQUID PAPER AND SAILOR'S HENNESSEY – So. . .what to say about the paperback collection of Andrew Boyd & Ryan Rount's Scurvy Dogs (AiT/Planet Lar) when you’ve already heaped critical hosannas on the original five-issue series when it first came out in comic book form? Well, you could discuss the book's previously unseen material: the four-page not-quite-a-team-up with Vampirella (pirate Jefe unsuccessfully trying to woo the alien vampiress to a date at a "romantic buffet in Atlantic City"), the throwaway Hostess Fruit Pie ad done to sell the comic or the fourteen pages of eight-point font writer-&-artist commentary about the splendid material being reprinted, but, to be honest, I've only skimmed that last feature since you have to keep flipping from the back to the front of the book to do it – and I didn't wanna mess up my review copy by actually, you know, reading it too hard or anything. Boyd & Yount crack plenty wise, though, so I suppose I will eventually break down and read more closely through it.Basic point: if you've already bought the five issue mini-series in its comic book form, you'll still probably want this ace collection, since it contains more of the creative duo's nonsensical flight-of-ideas japery, and the original stories themselves remain funny when you reread 'em. For those unfamiliar with the adventures of this dissolute band of pirates – who rummage their way through modern times, getting into pointlessly violent scrapes with monkeys ("pigeons of the seas," they calls 'em) and hobo kings, tossing off the occasional "Yar!" and silly pop culture reference (one that made me laugh out loud on the reread: a set of Hummel figurines done in tribute to violent deaths in the Great War) – well, to you I say, plunk down $12.95 for a copy of this collection today. Because Boyd & Yount need to be encouraged to do more of this sublime silliness. And because any form of intentional silliness is all too rare in American comics these days. . . # | |
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