Method Man

Hip-hopper bravely gets comical

The graphics of hip-hop began on city walls and trains cars, where graffiti artists evoked the same scenes narrated by MCs. With his self-titled graphic-novel debut, hip-hop artist Method Man (of Wu-Tang Clan fame) brings this mix to the page with a biblically infused dose of urban-gothic storytelling.

Peerless Poe, once part of a monastic order charged with protecting the world, is exiled. His old cohorts ask for help, bringing with them past wounds and new enemies.

Method Man skillfully re-examines the “private eye” concept. Poe sees the real world with one eye and demons with the other. When his supernatural eye falls on a mirror, showing Poe his other self, the reader sees what happens when the inner beast is personified and weaponized.

Illustrator Sanford Greene and writer David Atchison bring sharp edges to a world that includes both sewers and Stonehenge. Likewise, a few hip-hop collaborators join Peerless on his quest. Wu-Tang forever.