Dave The Cosmic Oddity. Return of the Cosmic Oddity. And now: DEATH of the Cosmic Oddity!

There is a reason why these books are selling like hot cakes -get copies while you can because I don't want you crying later!

Book 1:  Dave -A Cosmic Oddity

In case you missed it here was my review of the first Dave book.

A4
Black & White
Paperback, 

106 Pages

Price: £12.99

Ships in 3–5 business days
http://www.lulu.com/shop/dave-gordon/dave-cosmic-oddity/paperback/product-21852269.html

The biography of Dave Gordon, often called the Uk's Manara. Detailing Dave's origins and relationships, this is an insight into one of UK comicdoms creators.

I got this book handed to me by the postman (mailman if you are American) at 1300 hrs and by 1500 hrs I had read it through.

This is David Gordon -the UKs very own Milo Manara- telling his story.  From his birth and adoption three days later through family life, school, university, work and later trying to contact his birth mother -the outcome of which is still currently open.

Dave takes us through his life and troubled relationships with himself (2014) narrating and flashback images and sequences of events.  The style he uses in this book, being honest here, I saw at a glance and thought "not sure about this".  However, I realised the clever way the art had been designed and drawn -photos, etc.- actually worked. Even the cartoony flashback-to-situation pages (see below).

What can I write about this?  Gritty -yes.  Factual and being brutally honest and to be equally honest here I do not think I'd have the guts to quite literally open up my chest and let some of these experiences out.  Being pushed away by his adopted family is bad enough but then having to go through his (adoption) father dying of cancer -bad enough.  But we then learn about the abusive relationships (physical and emotional).

There is still the matter of his birth mother and how that might end.  However, Dave is now happily in a relationship with Lesley (I've met her and she seems quite nice for a prison officer -not even a moustache!) and that gives us a sort of happy ending.  But, oh boy, what happened before.

Let me tell you something.  For years I was also an agent for comic creators.  You see good art, you know the writers or artists are reliable so, as an agent you put a spin on things to sell the work.  I've read and reviewed comics and graphic novels for publications and online now for over 30 years.  I see a couple hundred books of one sort or another a year -the crammed bookshelves and floors attest to that.

I cannot think of one book where a creator has taken us through his personal life and things have been so dark and gut-wrenching -even preparing for suicide- that I have said out loud "F***!" so many times. My sister even said "What are you swearing at?"

If this were an independent film it would be getting some award.  A publisher should be paying Gordon to allow them to publish this!  This is superbly written -and it must have taken a lot of thought to put this together without going over the top or exaggerating.  To make it a sequential story interspersed with illustrated text pieces....this is truly what Will Eisner described what graphic novels should be: telling a true and honest story that grabs the reader and pulls them in.

You people out there deciding who gets nominated for an Eagle Award should read this book.

This book should NOT be ignored. If you think "I'll buy just one Independent book...." then PLEASE make it this.

The book has surprised and shocked me - I have heard some snippets over the years but never the whole story.  In fact, you really need to read it yourself because nothing I write here can even adequately do it justice.

Then we had Return of the Cosmic Oddity

This began with Dave finally meeting his birth mother and he tells her story as well as the often dark way his adopted mother and family treated him -his adopted father being the exception.  It is later in the book when Dave tells us of his final chat with his dying father and the trauma it caused: seemingly spurring on the rest of his adoptive family in their negative behaviour.

There is a light in this story, however, having met his now wife, Lesley (book 1) we see him take the big step of asking her to marry him.  Does she?  I think I gave the answer to that away just now.

But this is not all darkness.  There is a lot of humour including Dave being interrupted  by Dave (the one with the wrong t-shirt) and learning what Paranoia looks like physically....not to mention Depression and Anxiety! I'm just glad to hear other creators argue with themselves.

There are flashy-backs to family life, a mention of the work he did with Warren Ellis and why that collaboration started, negativity in the UK comics scene, his early comics work -and how it was treated- as well as meeting some devious piece of work named Terry Hoo---hang on. Meeting one of the greatest men in comics Terry Hooper.  Then comes the collaboration and working for Fantagraphic Books and let's not open that can of worms again.

Dave continues on looking at his post Fantagraphics work and the awful treatment he got at the hands of the (as I call them) "Scottish comics mafia".  I can attest to that.  If you look to the right on this page the David Gordon interview is still listed as one of the post popular and it still is: published on the Blogger version of CBO in February, 2011 it has been viewed some  17,402 times.  When it was first posted I had every sort of threat tried to get me to remove it because "he's trouble".  Those people are...nowhere to be seen these days. So don't take that part as fiction!

And, of course, Dave looks at his exclusive Chang3lings line of custome designed dolls.  Continuing the love of toys he has had since the 1970s -and in this book he looks at his cherished 1970s Micronaut toy. Dave's Chan3lings work is mentioned here: http://hoopercomicart.blogspot.com/2016/03/major-feature-chang3lings-at-edinburgh.html

Now we come to.....Death of the Cosmic Oddity!

Paperback
100 pages
Black & White
A4
£10.00
http://www.lulu.com/shop/richard-pester/death-of-the-cosmic-oddity/paperback/product-23721773.html

“Everyone has a story to tell, this is the continuing story of ‘Dave’. Like all of us, he tries to make sense of his life, memories of a turbulent past bring both tragedy and comedy together in one of the best graphic albums you’ll read this year.”

Well, that is what the blurb says. In this case it more-or-less tells the truth!

There’s a funny artist v artist confrontation to start the book off and once the "Other Dave" is taken care of comes Arrowmageddon….seriously. A lovely comedy sequence and something some artists may relate to. 

Dave and his musical influences which include, if you have not guessed, David Bowie. did I mention Dave meeting David Bowie?  Well he recounts that chance meeting at a concert back in the day. We also see how his attempt to paint Bowie on his bedroom wall ended. Turns out Dave is also a Toyah fan (problem?).

We also see how, rather brutally, Dave was told that he was adopted at an early age. Now you have to wonder why he grew up depressed, paranoid and with anger management issues! But there are still the humorous chats and the revelation that the “nudey playing cards” Dave found as a youngster…are still in his possession!  Which leads into one of his other loves –The Kenny Everett Show and dance group Hot Gossip, Saphire and Steel and the memories surrounding them. Now if you purchased his Dr Who Sketch Book and Groove Tube Memories you'll know that!

He also tells of an embarrassing meeting with singer/actress Claire Grogan.  I laughed but I seriously sympathise with him over what happened.  Youth!

The stories of Dave's "Adopteds" and Real family life are interspersed with a look at his love of Cinema as well as his painting work (Dave’s Pop Art) and exhibitions -already mentioned but some art pieces were shown here: http://hoopercomicart.blogspot.com/2017/12/chang3lings-how-about-original-painting.html

 Then comes the health scare and being rushed to hospital on top of more family twists.  Who needs TV soaps -this is real life and as dirty, gritty and funny as it can be. On the last page we see Lesley, Dave's wife, receiving the news….

…Dave is gone.

Don’t for one minute think that this series has been about moaning and “I never had anything good happen” –I have read SO many of those over the years.  Everything I said about book 1 applies here.  This book draws you in and the bad memories are balanced out well with plenty of humour –between Dave and "Daves" or in the flash-backs to school days, Playboy magazine and his mate "losing a testicle" -you have to read that to see why it was so funny!

The “cartoony” flash-back style interspersed between the “serious” art works well and I can’t see why anyone would have a problem with this. Really, if there were real publishers out there they would dump the “only one story in me” young art college ‘talents’ they give a graphic novel to and jump in on this series.

I really hope that one day the books will become one big book and people will pay attention because this knocks seven shades of doo-dah out of what is being published in the UK at the moment. Sad to say that in a country like France, this work would draw a lot of attention.

But it’s “only comics”, right?

You want a read that will make you wince, at the twists and turns, some very painful, but also give you a laugh then Death of the Cosmic Oddity is the one for you and I have only skimmed over some of the contents.