WELCOME TO HOXFORD
issues 1, 2, 3 & 4
by Ben Templesmith, $3.99 each, IDW Publishing.
I don’t know if I can define the itch that Ben Templesmith’s work scratches. But scratch away it does, often until it leaves an unsightly gash. Here, in Welcome to Hoxford, violent, criminally insane inmates are pitted against something possibly more insidious (don’t want to give it away here). The results are bloody, random and often laced with the blackest of humor. Before you know it you’re almost rooting for the murderers, rapists and pedophiles–no easy feat, but we’re always brought back around to remembering why these guys are where they’re at to begin with. Templesmith arrived on the scene with dozens of peers, all indulging in atmospheric, photoshop-heavy artwork. He’s raced far ahead of the pack, though, establishing that his writing chops match his doodles pound for pound. There is a gleeful cartooniness to his mayhem, almost as if Ralph Steadman did a Roadrunner cartoon written by a young, indigent Sam Raimi. If 60 percent or more of the words in that last sentence appeal to you, this is a comic you should check out. That cute counter clerk you’re too scared to ask out at the coffee shop will think more of you. Really.  - Patrick Godfrey

It’s a fantastic comic. Should be a movie.