Concrete (1987), Volume 1

November 15, 2005
Chadwick's remarkable, acclaimed "Concrete "series, begun in the mid-1980s, has won multiple Eisner and Harvey awards. When political speechwriter Ron Lithgow's brain was transplanted into a 1200-pound rocklike body, he gained tremendous strength, a tough protective skin, and amazingly acute eyesight. But some of life's simple pleasures, like tasting food or having sex, are denied him, and his massive body is awkward in a human-scaled world. He accepts his limitations without angst, however, sublimating his unfulfillable love for Maureen Vonnegut, a researcher assigned to study him, by collecting paintings of nudes. His new abilities inspire him to attempt amazing feats, like swimming long distances or rescuing trapped miners. But often his plans go awry, and his embarrassments are magnified by his notoriety. Chadwick's stories and excellent art both display a great deal of realism, and his writing gives Concrete himself a mature and very thoughtful viewpoint: wry, practical, philosophical, human. This volume, the first of a new series, compiles the earliest Concrete stories (previously collected in "The Complete Concrete "and "Concrete: Complete Short Stories 1986 -1989") and adds some previously uncollected tales, including a non-Concrete autobiographical short. Older teens and adults should find this uncommonly rewarding reading.

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2005
Possessed of the mind of a mild-mannered mensch in a gigantic, superstrong, rocklike body, Concrete was an early star of the independent comics movement, appearing intermittently since 1986. The character's outlandish origin--he was fashioned by aliens who were never again seen in the series--serves as an improbable but effective device for exploring human nature. Trapped in his granite shell, unable to feel sensual pleasures but graced with heightened senses, Concrete seeks new experiences that only he can attempt, such as a hike across the ocean's floor. Although he occasionally undertakes standard superhero exploits, such as rescuing miners trapped underground, he also engages in decidedly nontraditional jobs, like serving as bodyguard to a dotty, Prince-like rock star. Chadwick accentuates the stories' humanistic bent in his graceful, carefully wrought, black-and-white art. This collection begins a series that reprints Concrete's early appearances and previously uncollected stories by Chadwick, such as the autobiographical "Vagabond" in this volume; recalling a cross-country hitchhiking trip, it hints at how much the creator's character informs that of the creation.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)