Art d'Ecco

Fabulous surreal four-part work by brothers Andrew Langridge and Roger Langridge. Predecessor to Zoot!. Published between 1990 and 1992 by Fantagraphics books. Inspired by many of the absurdist-leaning art movements of the 20th century, such as the Dadaists and the Situationists (several volumes of the comic cite four artists as inspirations: Marcel DuChamp, Rae Armantrout, Jean-Luc Godard, and Vivian Darkbloom). The comic features aggressivly weird characters in the most absurd situations. Puns flow by constantly, but manage to do so without interrupting the pacing or plot. A constant theme is the visual play of typical comic book conventions, like th arrangement of panels, and the size, spacing, and flow of those panels, all to wonderful comic effect. This comic is, to my mind, an important part of why comics are important. It's interesting, intelligent, funny, and nice to look at.

By way of reference I'll identify a few other comics which I enjoy. There aren't many... Black Hole, Yummy Fur and Underwater (anything by Chester Brown), Love and Rockets (again, anything by Los Brothers Hernandez), the works of Adrian Tomine, Meat Cake (by Dame Darcy)...

Andrew and Roger Langridge are from New Zealand; I don't know much about Andrew (who does most of the wonderful writing for Art d'Ecco and Zoot!), but Roger (who does most of the drawing/inking) has worked on a Captain America special for marvel as well as a number of one-off titles for DC (in the "Big Books Of..." series), the DC Gross Point series, and the Dark Horse comics Kabuki Kid and Doctor Spin.

The Characters:
• Art d'Ecco: Charismatic, suave, overeducated, and a total asshole. Usually found in a white tuxedo. Roommate of the gump. Romantically linked to Margie deSade, whom he costarred with in the lost film "Oral Hygiene For Beginners: a Love Story". Writes under the pseudonum Otis K. Drake.
• the gump: Short, pyrmidically-statured roommate of Art d'Ecco. Not known for his intelligence. The unwitting center of the action, usually.
• Art Nouveau: Zany arch-nemesis of Art d'Ecco. Usually seen in a black tuxedo. Apparent founder of a strange cult on the island of Leros.
• Margie deSade: Fundamentalist, pretty much against everything in the pursuit of morality. Shares a sordid past with Art d'Ecco.
• Bob Dwyer: Alien politician working to ensure the continued enslaving of the human race.
• Siobhan Ghoti: A strange two-dimensional character; her role in the series is rather hard to define.
• the Narrator: An unnamed kleptomanic who unravels most of the plot of Art d'Ecco (the comic). Seen to frequently bicker with Art d'Ecco (the character).