A couple of months ago, when I reviewed The Human Target, I tried to set the scene in a very fictionalized manner. Rainy Saturday morning, coffee, jazz, and the two collections. That’s not how I read it, but it’s nice to imagine reading the book that way. Well, when I read Where The Body Was, the latest by Brubaker and Phillips, I actually ended up sitting down to read it in a similar fashion, and wow, it really does work.
Let’s set the scene then. It’s been a week since my finals for the semester ended. Before then, I already got the email about a copy of this book, but I hadn’t had a chance to read, yet, it was always on the back of my mind. Since the day my finals ended, I’ve just been out with friends nonstop, until the day before, when I finally managed to get my hands on a hardcover of Where The Body Was (my first Brubaker/Phillips hardcover, actually!).
The next day, I’ve got nothing going on. No plans, just me, alone at residence on campus, looking out at a gloomy midday sky. It’s December in Toronto, of course it’s gloomy. I go out, as I do, I can’t be a hermit, get some lunch, and then when I return I look at the hardcover lying on my desk, waiting to be read. Pulling up Spotify, I put on some jazz, lay back on my chair, and then read the comic. No interruptions, just an hour of me, this book, and some nice music.
And just… wow.
At a simple glance, on a visual level, Where The Body Was seems like the opposite of what Brubaker and the Phillips’ previous book, Night Fever, was like. Where Night Fever, from the cover itself, was basked in darkness, this one is set in light, and this goes further into the interiors too. Most of the story here takes place in the daytime, compared to the previous one, which took place at night mostly.
Furthermore, there’s also the way this story is told. In the afterword, Brubaker describes it as “the puzzle idea of a book with several different stories overlapping on one street,” and that’s exactly what it is. When you open the book, the very first thing you’ll see is a two-page spread of the map of Pelican Road in the Summer of ‘84, with a legend marking everything, and once you flip the page after that, the list of the main characters in this story.
There’s something quite nice about all this, especially the map. I found myself using the signed bookplate I got with the book as a bookmark on the map, constantly going back and seeing where the characters were in the story in proximity to other people, until the map itself had made a place in my head, at least for the duration of me reading the book, and then some.
Going deeper into the “overlapping on one street” bit, this story is segmented into many shorter stories. Every time one starts, there’s the title on the top left panel in white. The title never overlaps with the art, instead neatly tucked away in a corner, so that it’s easy to look at. These aren’t that long, going from three to fourteen or so pages. They’re very clearly flashbacks, as explained by the narration, as well as certain panels to indicate that. I never felt lost by any of it, and the stories never felt disconnected from one another, rather, always relevant, always important, furthering both the characters and the narrative.
The characters in this, wow. If you’ve read a Brubaker/Phillips book, I’m sure you know of the archetypes they continue to play with, which has never been a complaint of mine, but I was pleasantly surprised by the twist they put on that type here, especially with Palmer Sneed, described in the list of characters as “Man With a Badge”. I was thoroughly invested by all of these characters and their stories and how they all intersect from beginning to end. Sure, at points I could sort of guess what the connections were, but the lead up to the reveal and the way they pay off were immensely satisfying, so that’s not a bad thing whatsoever.
The art… what to say about the art that I haven’t said already when I talked about Night Fever. The Phillips brothers continue to impress, putting out some of the best art in comics, and that rings true for Where The Body Was as well. Lots of shading, not through gradients, but through layering similar shades on top of them, which is so pleasant to the eyes and a great departure from what I’m used to seeing. Sean Phillips’ paneling continues to impress too, especially with how a lot of moments are framed here. It’s so good.
Look, Where The Body Was is a Brubaker/Phillips joint. I don’t have to tell you to pick it up. If you see those names on a book, you should pick them up. Yet another great comic out by them, and I can’t wait for what’s next. You can buy it now!
