Goodnight, Irene [2007] (Random Comics Theatre)

Random Comics Theatre

Goodnight, Irene [2007]

This is a collection of the works of Carol Lay, featuring her character Irene Van de Kamp, published in the title GOOD GIRLS from 1987 to 1991 from Fantagraphics and then Rip Off Press.  Lay also does some new stories in the end of this book, published by Last Gasp.

I'd seen the old comic around every now and then, and it looked intriguing, but I didn't really start paying attention to Carol Lay until I started reading her Story Minute comic strip (later titled Way Lay) around the turn of the century.  Really loved those, so of course looked for her earlier work. Discovered she did some CAPTAIN CARROT comics I enjoyed back in the early 1980s (initially inking, then eventually co-writing and drawing the OZ-WONDERLAND WAR mini-series), but obviously much of her own style didn't come through on that. Read a few of the GOOD GIRLS issues, but eventually this book came out.

Irene's story began as one-shot parody back-up story, making fun of standard romance comics tropes with an extreme version of the situations they're built on, in this case an American heiress lost as a baby and raised by an African tribe that practices face-shaping, including a lip-plate. Returning to America as a young wealthy woman, she struggles to find love, hoping a blind lawyer might be the one, only to have her hopes dashed. A funny little story that Lay created in 1980, but didn't publish until years later.  After a few issues as a back-up, Irene's story took over the books, adding more colourful characters and complications. 

A very fun book, and it's interesting to see the evolution of Lay's style in the long creative process between the first story and the last.  The first story is a solid classic style, as befits the parody roots. Later on she melds that style with a lot of the Love&Rockets look, especially Jaime Hernandez, which is a natural fit, as they seem to have a lot of common influences.  You can gradually see her work going towards that Story Minute / Way Lay style as the book goes on, with some sudden jumps in the two new stories in the back which update Irene's story to the then-modern day.

The original Irene related covers and back-covers are presented in the back, and there's a new preface by Lay and introduction by musician Mark Mothersbaugh.