Beat It Rufus Hc (02/19/2025) Fantagraphics

Rufus Baxter is an aging, professionally unemployed loser, desperately delusionally hanging on to his 1980s hair metal fantasies of headlining arenas, despite so much evidence to the contrary (like audience members ducking when he tosses promo tshirts at an openmic night). The rest of his bandmates in Funky Cool died decades ago in a horrible plane crash on the cusp of their first big break. When he gets kicked out of the Denver storage unit hes been illegally sleeping in, his only prospect is a lastsecond wedding gig the very next day in Wyoming. A hop in his car, and possibly a peyote button or two, sends Baxter on a psychedelic and existential road trip through his past, and forces him to confront every bad decision hes made along the way.Beat It, Rufus is very much a kindred spirit with Van Scivers Fante Bukowski series, a comedic character study both played for laughs but also infused with a surprising gravitas that has you rooting for Rufus despite having every reason not to. Van Scivers comedic and graphic talents are in peak form in this original graphic novel, his followup to the award winning and critically acclaimed graphic bio, Joseph Smith and the Mormons. Note, finished book will feature a leopard spot fabric spine/quarter binding.