This week, we’re highlighting a creator known for pushing limits and experimenting with what kinds of stories comics can tell – W. Maxwell Prince. His first big publication was One Week in the Library, where he depicts a tumultuous week in the library through seven short stories, each in a unique style that varies from prose to poetry.
Prince has adopted this method of storytelling with great success – his horror anthology series The Ice Cream Man has become a cult classic. This series explores a wide variety of thematic elements – addiction, misery, sorrow, fear, and so much more. Each story can be read as a one shot, but all are loosely connected through the enigmatic Ice Cream Man. Fans of the Netflix shows Love, Death and Robots and Black Mirror will be right at home with the kind of content explored in this series. Due to the graphic nature of some topics, it is intended for mature readers only.
The artwork for Prince’s books tends towards surreal, colorful and detailed. This is especially prevalent in his series Art Brut (originally published under the title The Electric Sublime). Publisher Image comics describes Art Brut as “A colorful, gonzo romp through art and art history, ART BRUT is equal parts police procedural, hyper-fantasy, and psychological thriller-a veritable Pollock-splatter of comics genres tossed onto one giant pulpy canvas” and truly that’s what it is. Prince is an innovator who is constantly pushing the boundaries of what comic writing can be.
His most recent work, Swan Songs, is an anthology set which explores different endings. The end of a marriage. The end of a sentence. The end of the world. It’s sure to be another beautiful and insightful collection of stories, and you won’t want to miss it! The first issue hit shelves on July 5th – pick up a copy and explore the unique and twisted tales that W. Maxwell Prince is sure to surprise you with!
