5 out of 5

A collection of DHP material and Hack/Slash backups – plus some extras – this flipbook is a showcase of a whole lotta’ Browne. The “There’s a Gorilla…” section tells a goofy silver age narrative through a sequence of comic covers, and lets Ryan tap in to his randomness, but with some rails to guide it, since he sticks to vaguely telling a story (about ghost superheros and whatnot). This, to me, is the best type of Browne’s style, as God Hates Astronauts can be hilarious, but it can also feel too leftfield sometimes. It’s best when he’s got some story points to keep him on track.

On the other side, Browne does illustrations for Costa’s 2-page strips about an invincible human cop in a city of monsters. Similar to Ryan’s combos with Charles Soule, when you pair him up with an inventive but “straight” writer, the results can be uproarious – and this is on exception. “Straight” doesn’t mean without human, of course, as there are jokes a’plenty in Costa’s scripts, funny on their own, but just meaning that the story doesn’t necessarily try to outshine what the art can do – Costa lets Ryan bring the crazy, and gooses the various scenarios just enough. I would watch the heck out of this TV show.

On each side we get some pinups and bonus comics from Ryan (published in various places), which show how he operates when trying to tell something more linear – both are successful in their own ways.

Totally worth it for Browne fans, but this is also the kind of comic that’s out there but plays on enough recognizable comic / TV tropes for your local non-comic reader to appreciate when you force them to read it.