Etienne is a shit-shoveling peon, strolling through life heedless of its complexities. But when his uncle, Monsieur Leotard, the greatest acrobat and leader of the circus that the world knows, dies, Etienne plants a fake moustache on his face and dives into a new life, becoming something he truly knows nothing about. Floating along on the flying trapeze, he’ll contend with food shortages, fires, love, and a voyage on a very doomed ship, all in the pursuit of happiness and an existence that makes sense.

As I wrote the above, I struggled with it, because I did something that the book itself does not: make it appear as though there is a true narrative to the piece. I assure you, that’s not the case at all: MONSIEUR LEOTARD is one of the strangest, most artistically brave books I’ve read in recent memory, and I do it a disservice by suggesting that it makes some sort of sense.

Eddie Campbell’s latest makes very little sense at all, and while 99% of the time that’s reason to pan a book, in this case it happens to be the primary reason to recommend it. Campbell and collaborator Best take this odd character and his supporting cast and throw them into one absurdist situation after another, even eschewing proper chapter structure by calling each one “The Next Episode.” It speaks to the repetitive absurdity of what is going on and clues you in to their intention not to back down from their intentions to not make simplistic storytelling decisions along the way.

The bold nature of the art is at times breathtaking. An early two page spread features the trapeze act being performed against the sheet music for “The Man On The Flying Trapeze.” External facts and narrative tools appear outside the panels, commentating at what has been happening and supplementing the readers’ knowledge. One section shifts gears and becomes an illustrated novella. Campbell never allows you to become comfortable or complacent in this odd world he’s created on the page.

It took a second reading for me to really find my footing in LEOTARD but that was time well spent. It’s a terrific piece, and a sweet return to form for Campbell after last year’s somewhat turgid BLACK DIAMOND DETECTIVE AGENCY.

Marc Mason