Four Eyes vol. 1 by Joe Kelly

Published as a trade paperback by Image Comics on July 23, 2015

This volume collects the first four issues of a comic book series that began publication in 2008. It tells a depression-era story dominated by Italian-American characters. It is set in an alternate history that is much like our own except for the dragons. I'm not typically a fan of dragon stories, but Four Eyes is not a typical dragon tale. You could almost view the dragons as a metaphor but for the fact that they're actually flying around and eating people. At other times they're fighting each other like pit bulls in warehouses as people place bets on the outcome, much to the consternation of animal rights activists. Now that's an original twist on dragon stories.

Anyway, the story isn't so much about dragons as it is about an impoverished young boy named Enrico who sets aside the prospect of an education to help support his mother by working for meager wages after his father is killed while trying to steal a baby dragon. It's the story of a kid who wants to avenge his father's death, to hold accountable the gangsters who organize the dragon fights. It's also the story of a child who wants to please his father even after his father is dead, a child who needs to overcome fears and come of age a bit early.

Joe Kelly's prose is a level or two above the writing typically found in graphic novels. The art is strange and creepy. In other words, the art is really good. So is the story.

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