Customer Reviews

Nevada

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4 star:		(1)
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What can I say ... the short series collected in this volume has a real woman for the lead character, vivid characterisation, heaps of intelligence, a sharp critique of modern society and humanity in general, and an exposition of an existentialist, yet non-materialist philosophy unlike anything you'll find elsewhere in comics. The fantastic milieu of Las Vegas and alternate dimensions is rendered in a wonderful and realistic style by Phil Winslade ... Clearly, a special labour of love by Gerber and Winslade, which, along with Gerber's Howard the Duck volumes, comes very highly recommended to anyone who loves comics, but wishes more of them had intelligence and soul.

Wow, I'm surprised no one has reviewed this book! Originally a six issue mini-series from DC Comics' Vertigo line, this comic has it all: a beautiful strong woman, who also happens to be a Vegas showgirl, a pet ostrich (named Bolero), a gangster with a lava lamp head, strange murders, and much more. Steve Gerber has written one weird story here, as if Las Vegas wasn't already surreal enough. Nevada, the main character, is a pretty unique woman in the world of comics. She's tough, but more in a psychological way than your typical Amazonesque superheroine or babe with big guns. She's sexy, but in a real and naural way. The artwork is good too, supplied by Phil Winslade and Steve Leialoha. This is probably one of the best Vertigo mini-series ever (along with Peter's Milligan's ENIGMA and Paul Pope's HEAVY LIQUID.) If you like Grant Morrison's stuff, you'll probably like this too. Gritty and surreal just the way you like it!

This book exhibits all the quirkiness, along with amazingly believable and likable characters, that made Gerber's classic work at Marvel (on "The Defenders," "Tales of the Zombie," "Man-Thing," "Omega the Unknown," and "Howard the Duck") such joys to read and re-read. "Nevada" is further strengthened by the way the realistic art of Phil Winslade makes "Nevada" feel very matter-of-factly, even while its main character is facing hoards of extra-dimensional monsters, or falling to pieces during a mind/body spiritual test that becomes a little too literal.

"Nevada" is a joy to read and re-read.

It would be wrong to judge Steve Gerber by just one comics story.

But if there is one story that captures most of his sensibilities as an author in one work it's probably this one. It features the innately bizarre landscape of Las Vegas, musings on good and evil, homeless bums who are secretly super-heroes, and the underlying nature of the Universe (much like Countdown to Mystery: Doctor Fate). It also features a stripper with a pet bird that sometimes seems to talk (not very much like the beloved Howard the Duck, but there is a certain resonance). A hard-boiled crime drama with otherworldly perpetrators going on in the background. There is even a two-bit crime boss with a lava lamp head and a gorgeous mafioso daughter.

I can't figure out how he fit them all in one story.

But he did. It's like watching a magician make an elephant disappear. You know there MUST be a trick. But you can't see how it's done.

If you only want to try one Gerber work. . . maybe this one will whet your appetite. Then come back for the rest.

Nevada (her name) is a Las Vegas stage performer - performing with her pet ostrich, Bolero. She's about as hard a case as any, and keeps it that way. She has a few friends, including a dancer paradoxically named Bianca and the casino's resident geek, Rip. It's a good enough life. There are lots worse lives to live, including wino Ogden Locke's, di Vesuvio's (if you call that living), and the lives being taken in bizarre acts of dismemberment.

That's when her life turns weird. Not just the usual kind of stalker - she can handle that well enough. It's things like ancient Greece appearing in the ladie's loo that get to her, with Locke delivering oracular warnings from his seat on the porcelain throne. But Locke couldn't possibly have been there, and it just goes down hill from there. Against her will (and there's a lot of will), she's off on a hallucinatory journey of transformation. After her trials of spirit, she emerges as ...

Well, see for yourself. She's about halfway between Moore's "Promethea" and Ennis's "The Pro" in humor and attitude, though she precedes both by a few years. Gerber has driven innovation in comics since the 1970s, with his landmark "Howard the Duck." This work unites his writing with some of the best comic art and lettering in the industry. This looks like the opening chapters of a story that was never finished, but what's here is easy to enjoy.

//wiredweird