"It Only Hurts When I Pee (Part 2)"
Writer/Artist: Ben Templesmith
Publisher: IDW
Ben Templesmith, in his latest Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse, manages to bring his readers something that is both hilarious and deeply disturbing. At points in the book he manages to accomplish both of these at the same time. Of course, you could have probably figured that out yourself by the image on the cover of a zombie holding the severed head of a leprechaun.
Wormwood is a parasite that inhabits and animates corpses. He’s got a storage shed where corpses hang on the walls like old coats. These are used whenever he feels like changing which he’s done recently, jumping into the decaying body of a little girl. That last bit is a great deal funnier than it sounds, particularly since Wormwood changed into his new body in order to slow the progress of a disease he’s been infected with. By leprechauns. Seriously, it’s like he has the ancient Gaelic version of rabies. So in this sixth issue, Wormwood and his companions are off to the ancient home of the wee folk in order to find a cure, which can only be bestowed by the leprechaun queen.
How does a corpse catch a disease, I hear you ask?
I have no idea. Perhaps the worm is infected, like some sort of sordid bottle of mescal. It doesn’t matter, though. Templesmith’s work is worth reading for three reasons.
First, the art. Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse has a style that does not imitate, apologize or resemble anything else out there right now (other than possible Fell, another Templesmith work). It somehow manages to be beautiful and ugly at the same time. In the latter part of this issue a group of bad guys shows up that are aptly named Squid-Men. While such an idea is not new, Templesmith’s execution of it actually produced a visceral response in me the first time I saw one of these antagonists. In a medium where some work resembles paint by numbers, this is no mean feat.
The other two reasons to pick up Templesmith’s work go hand-in-hand. His writing is both extremely funny and very weird. The fomerly mentioned leprechauns make for a good example of this. Rather than shamrock wearing cute tricksters, the leprechauns of this world are an embodiment of the worst Irish traits. They’re violent, stupid, hate just about everything, and speak in near gibberish. The words they spout are nearly as indecipherable as they are funny when you figure out what they’re saying, so take the time to piece through the dialogue.
Now given that Wormwood lives in a city where inter-dimensional travelers pass through like strangers in New York, you’ve plenty of material for the author to work with. This sixth issue of Gentleman Corpse is a great example of Templesmith’s work; it's weird, funny and more than a little off. If that sounds like a good read to you, pick this up.
If you liked this review, be sure to check out more of the author’s work at http://madbastard.hypersites.com.
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