DAISY KUTTER: THE LAST TRAIN, BY KAZU KIBUISHI

An excellent graphic novel by Kazu Kibuishi. It’s a sort of a space western featuring Daisy Kutter, a former outlaw of mythic repute who gets roped into one more gig. The story is simple and rather unremarkable, but its merits as a comic are many. Kibuishi seems to have mastered the subtle pacing and extended silences that make comics so magical, and he has chosen a level of stylization for his characters that is accessibly cartoonish without being cloying or absurd (think The Incredibles and Tintin rather than Mickey Mouse). One gets the impression he has taken all of Scott McCloud’s best advice, consciously or otherwise. Regardless, this is a real gem.