- Where Did You Sleep?
- Route 14 Comics
- Written by Tom Mularz
- Art by Arjuna Susini
- Letters by Andworld Design
1987. Seattle.
James, a man who was nearly a guitar legend but settled for being a cop, realizes the same unearthly muse who once tormented him may have found a new instrument: a grungy, flannel-clad blonde kid with a notebook full of angsty songs.
Determined to protect the kid from his murderous inspiration, James takes him on a desperate journey, battling his own dark purple haze of history along the way.
Hey, Joe… where you goin’ with that comic in your hand?
My name’s not Joe, but I’m goin’ to tell some folks about a very cool one-shot comic about a tired cop who used to play the guitar… a bit… in his more inspired youth. He’s on the trail of a killer, and suspect #1 is a young musician with a mop of blonde hair and a penchant for flannel shirts. Also, he kinda Smells Like Teen Spirit. As Jimmy… or James as he prefers… looks All Along the Watchtower to close his case, he discovers there may be a… Foxy Lady involved.
I’m a sucker for bizarre stuff like this. Where Did You Sleep? is the kind of comic that reaffirms my closely held belief that indie comics and small press creators like Tom Mularz are where the industry lives and breathes. They’re taking all the creative risks without the security (or regular paycheck) of the Big Guys, and it’s all for the love of comics. That’s it, and based on that alone, I’d say writers like Mularz would be worth a look.
But that’s not all. Mularz has put together a legitimately solid piece of work here, twisting genres and coming up with a what if…? that would never have thought I needed. James, the detective on the trail of a killer, has been beaten down, ground almost to a bloody nub of his former self, and the reader is slowly let in on why. Meanwhile, his primary suspect, Kurt, is as out of his element as can be imagined… a situation to which the reader is also gradually enlightened. The fact that Mularz wraps it all up with a bow and a satisfying, if not totally happy ending by the end of this 33-page one-shot is another point in favor of recommending this comic.
Yet another point is the art by Arjuna Susini, capturing all the grunge and neon of a classic whodunnit set in part during the 80s club scene. The character work is impressive, managing to bring out the qualities written into Mularz’s story, if not entirely sticking to some of the more well-known faces featured. Finally, I have to give props to the coloring, also complements of Susini, bringing back the look of old crime comics of yesteryear… especially in a few of the pages where I was reminded of the work of early Neal Adams. Something in the use of shadows… I can’t really pin it down and point at it, but I know it’s there because it hit me again as I looked through the comic while writing this review.
Fans of alternate history, crime noir, horror, & original twists on any of those things, Come as You Are, clear away the Purple Haze, and Where Did You Sleep? a look. It’s a story well worth your time.
Final Score: 11/13
