4 out of 5

At this point – and especially with the wrinkles HaHa and Swan Songs have brought to the formula – W. Maxwell Prince’s Ice Cream Man is a series of episodic “vibes,” and not so much stories, much less interconnected ones. I might generally be against this as a structure, except Prince has kind of earned that state by easing us into it, helped by providing a consistent visual keel by compatriots Martin Morazzo and colorist Chris O’Halloran; it’s thus now a neat trick where individual issues kind of hint at a whole, and can act as glimpses into that issue’s world, without necessarily needing to have a beginning, middle, or end. That can still result in some flat, forced beats, such as this issue’s clunky final page / panel and the stray callbacks to ICM lore but can also result in nearly unburdened creativity. I’ve subjectively appreciated certain instances more than others, of course, but I very much respect the model, and the work it’s taken to get here, and this is a really solid expression of it: in issue 38, Gary #38 lives in a community with hundreds of other Garys, wherein they each have their own dedicated role – 38 picks up leaves, for example – and happily do the same things again and again in a walled-in commune, overseen by lab-coated doctors. Except occasionally, one Gary or another goes offscript, and is corralled by security Garys and sent off to the “spa” for treatment; now our Gary – 38 – is having his own rather un-Gary thoughts…

Martin Morazzo’s art sprawls across the page, establishing the ordered world of Gary with visual notes of its structure, but in a compelling fashion. He finds much acting variations amongst a nigh-entirely lookalike cast. Similarly, O’Halloran explores a green palette with control, while finding a lot of wiggle room. And letterer adds additional voice and pacing to this some-pieces-missing, but still very satisfying puzzle.