Broken Frontier

The comic book adaptation of the short works of speculative-fiction grandmeister Cory Doctorow continues, with the seminal sci-fi fable Craphound.

The Earth has been approached by a non-aggressive alien race, who trade wondrous technology for seemingly useless stretches of terrestrial real estate.  Which may seem odd to some, but Jerry Abington is a craphound, a bargain basement treasure hunter extraordinaire, and when Jerry happens across an individual alien who seems as obsessed with collecting and hoarding scraps as he is, Jerry takes the young ET under his wing, dubs him “Craphound,” and teaches him the tricks of the trade.  But there’s one rule no craphound can ever break, and Jerry, outdone by Craphound’s own crap-finding instincts, is about to break it.

Writer Dara Naraghi (author of the online comic Lifelike) returns after adapting issue #1’s Anda’s Game, and once again Naraghi captures the voice and essence of the source material flawlessly.  Craphound, as a single issue comic, is a wonderful read, wholly memorable, straight-forward though musically paced.  The narrative is a frank mixture of protagonist Jerry Abington’s swagger and surprisingly sensitive sensibilities, a result that could easily have been lost in the translation, from pure prose to the vastly more text-sparse comic format.

Best of all, though, is the visual rendition of the tale by UK import Paul McCaffrey, who I believe makes his mainstream debut with Craphound, and what a momentous debut it is!  He handles full art chores—pencils, inks, and colors—and produces some of the most polished, clean, considered, and yet stylized art I have ever encountered.  There’s an appealing shape of Brian Hurtt anatomy and facial composition to McCaffrey’s work, though his inks and most especially his coloring appear meticulously hand-drawn, which may or may not be the case, but his skill in either event is superlative.  I wasn’t able to post any preview pages for Craphound, but click on his name above for a peek at the man’s art sample portfolio!

Three issues in with three more to go and Cory Doctorow’s Fururistic Tales of the Here and Now is one of the most worthwhile and successful prose-to-comic-book adaptations yet produced.  IDW has a definite winner on their hands, and as every issue is stand-alone, there’s no reason not to hop on board at any time, or cherry pick those stories that seem most appealing.  And with a title like “Craphound,” tell me you aren’t intrigued!