First Second publishing is, without a doubt, one of the best publishers in comics, and its relationship with creator Eddie Campbell has produced nothing but great work. Well, if you exclude “Black Diamond Detective Agency,” which I will. “The Fate of the Artist,” the first book from Campbell and the publisher, cleverly explores his life as a comic creator and other, more insignificant, things such as being a father. It mixes styles and media with playful abandon to deconstruct the author in the midst of his absence from most of the book. Their second book together, “Black Diamond Detective Agency,” is not terrible, but it does not really come together to be anything great. Thankfully, Campbell’s newest release, “The Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard,” is a return to that greatness we should expect from him and First Second.
 
“Leotard” is about a young man named Etienne as he attempts to keep alive the great circus legacy of his deceased uncle, the original Leotard. He does this with an eclectic group of performers, including a rubber man, disappearing woman, strong man, and master of fire who make up “The Quartette Fantastique.” This is only one of the great nods to comic fans throughout the book, as some of the story takes place during the same time as Campbell and Moore’s “From Hell.” 

There is some historical fact in the book. Jules Leotard was a real circus performer, for whom the leotard is named, and he did die at some point. But Campbell is not too concerned with all that. He has the same irreverent attitude towards historical accuracy as he does comics in general, drawing little doodles in the margins, and even appearing to comment on his own work in a few pages. It just does not matter, because history would only get in the way of the fun love of storytelling the artist displays here.