Parasocial
Alex de Campi, writer; Scott Henderson, artist
Image Comics, 2023
A story straight out of Stephen King's novel Misery, but this time the protagonist is a fading genre-TV actor instead of a novelist. The graphic novel begins at a comics convention in the middle of the pandemic. Luke Indiana (who pointedly is not wearing a mask) is there to sign autographs for fans of Rogue Nebula, the cult favorite science fiction TV show he starred in. The fans he meets run the gamut from starstruck to pretentious, but he gamely makes it through the day (including photo ops in a glass booth with a divider, a very Covid touch). He has car trouble on his way home but accepting help from a fan he saw at the con earlier turns out to be the beginning of a nightmarish evening. He awakens tied to a chair in her kitchen, and things go downhill from there. His attempt to seduce her quickly turns violent, with both of them spiraling out of control. It's an emotional and physical roller-coaster ride, thrilling right up to the end (followed by a gentle coda). In her afterword de Campi reveals that the story started as a joke, inspired by the Marvel Comics editor who published manga-style superhero comics under a pseudonym. Not the most original idea, certainly, but an exciting read, aided by Henderson's energetic depiction of the action.
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