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Dawson, Mike – Guitar Solo

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Guitar Solo

This is the first new comic I’ve seen from Mike in far too long, as he’s working on a graphic novel called Freddie and Me. This is apparently a bridge between the two halves of the book, so maybe the whole thing makes more sense in context. The first half of the comic was tremendous, among the best stuff Mike as ever done. It’s all about memory, self, how other people see the world, and a brief snapshot of growing up as an outsider (literally, as he came here from England around 5th grade). Really fascinating ideas on the concept of existence, how we hold onto the important memories and how this sets us apart from every other form of life. If his graphic novel is based around this, I’m sold. The second part of the mini, however, is a conversation between Freddie Mercury and Brian May about their last album and it’s a jarring transition. Again, it might all make perfect sense in the context of the graphic novel, but as a stand alone mini it seemed sudden. Freddie and Me is about Mike’s life in general and his lifelong obsession with Queen specifically, so I get the need to have Freddie Mercury in there somewhere, but what was the conversation based on? A recorded conversation? Gossip and hearsay? Eh, it’s a minor quibble, as the first half was phenomenally good, I just hope it all makes sense in the big picture. $2 or so, as the comics keep me guessing about pricing these days…