I think every title I’ve written about up until now is in print, available digitally, or from the library. But, as with today’s two books, that won’t always be the case. Both of these books are out of print, not available digitally, and from a now defunct Fantagraphics line. Used copies are floating around but they’re a little pricey. I didn’t even realize they were out of print when I pulled them off the shelf.

There are two titles under the Wish You Were Here subtitle: The Innocents and They Found the Car. Story and art for both books are by Gipi, an Italian artist and writer. They were part of the Ignatz line of books from Fantagraphics that Igort edited or curated. While the books are numbered they are more of a thematic pairing. So even if you see either of these out in the wild somewhere, grab them!

The Innocents. Wish You Were Here was published in 2005. It tells a really simple story on the surface that hides a lot of depth. A grown man and now reformed criminal takes his nephew out for the day when he gets a call from one of his old running buddies and the two go to meet him. This is a story where the crimes are kept way the hell off the page and focuses on the psychological development and growth of these characters. The reformed man has come along way and his growth is really highlighted when we meet the friend, who is a jittery mess still living in the past. The flashbacks are rendered in a sketchy style where the lines look as if they are going to fall right off the page underscoring the fragile nature of memory. The flashbacks add depth to the two men in a meaningful way and Gipi isn’t afraid to keep vital information off the page and let the reader fill in the gaps.

They Found the Car. Wish You Were Here. Vol. 2. This is as tightly constructed and brilliantly told one shot crime comic you are likely to find. A man is woken up in the middle of the night by a voice on the phone from the past that utters the four words of the title “They found the car”. The two men meet up and set about tying up the loose ends from whatever it is that they did. Just as Gipi did in The Innocents he withholds info from the reader. We don’t know what these men did. Their night journey will lead right into the heart of darkness. Blood will be shed, an unexpected participant will join them, and the end will blow you the hell away (nudge nudge wink wink).

They Found the Car belongs on every crime comics fans shelf. I’ve since re-read it a few times and it never diminishes. Unlike The Innocents though They Found the Car doesn’t deal in flashbacks. None at all. Everything is kept in the present as the tension mounts. The story feels like it has an inevitable end right up until the last moment. In both stories the past haunts and lingers and you never know when it’s going to come back and want something from you. The story’s are firmly rooted in characters and their relationships and any action comes out of that. It also wants to explore the fragility of past bonds. How much do you owe the person from your past when you aren’t even the person you were when that relationship was most important to you.

Highly recommend both but They Found the Car is my favorite.