The Divided States of Hysteria

[Jeff of Earth-J]

Howard Chaykin on The Divided States of Hysteria.

[Mark Sullivan (Vertiginous Mod)]

I agreed to review this as my first review for the website No Flying, No Tights. I read the whole collected edition today in one sitting. The collection has no letter page material, but it has all the alternate covers (including the controversial one), Chaykin's essay, and a very interesting process piece by letterer Ken Bruzenak. The lettering plays an unusually important part in the art here.

I generally like Chaykin's work, although I think he's prone to cliches. This book is crammed full of them. It's a black, dystopian extension of the current state of the world, with an entire cast of disagreeable characters. And it's deliberately provocative, so much so that it sometimes seems to be the entire point. Obviously there's a lot to think about--reading it was a somewhat unpleasant experience, but it held my interest. Hopefully I can strike that balance in my review. 

[Jeff of Earth-J]

Fair enough.