Spudd 64 #5
I’ve been robbed! That’s the only reason I can think of as to why my copies of Spudd 64 #3 and 4 are missing, anyway. I had it all planned out for this lazy Sunday morning: grab all of the previous issues of the series, read them, then read the new one and talk about it. Simple! But since I could only find #1 and 2 (I have copy #4 of the 25 copy print run for #1, in case anybody was curious), I’ll have to go with my own reviews to remember the other issues. Terrifying. This issue is Matt’s return to the world of Spudd 64, and since the last issue of it came out in 2007, I’d strongly advise you to at least read my reviews of those issues before going on. Matt was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease recently, but he’s been wanting to return to this world for ages, so he went with a minimalistic approach with his art. Have no fear though, this is still very much the world of Spudd 64. This issue starts with Hassan picking up the unconscious body of Spudd 64 from space, where’s he’s been drifting since the end of issue #3. Don’t take my word for it, Matt was nice enough to include synopses for the previous issues at the end of the comic. He also includes a couple of other comics in the timeline, including one that’s still unpublished, so he clearly has big plans. Hassan takes a leisurely journey through space, sees several odd and wonderful sights, and is eventually shot down and crash lands on a strange planet. It turns out to be a peaceful world, but Spudd didn’t survive the crash landing, so Hassasn sadly buries him. But after several years a tree grows from the grave of Spudd, and it happens to have a creepy face on it. Could this be the end of our hero? Well, that would be a heck of a thing to come back to a series after 17 years away, wouldn’t it? This is a quiet, contemplative issue, and a very welcome return to this world. I didn’t touch much on Hassan’s time on the world, but it’s all about exploring and coming to terms with the fact that he’ll probably never leave that world. I’m not seeing an easy place to buy this online, but get in touch with the man, maybe he even has copies of previous issues to help you complete the story so far. As for me, I’m going to find a spelunker to go through my comics caves to find those two missing issues… $3
