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Is Eddie Campbell an imposter? Find out in his recently-released graphic novel

By John Freeman on September 18, 2023

Comic creator Eddie Campbell is not himself. But these days, who is? The Second Fake Death of Eddie Campbell, published by Top Shelf Productions earlier this year, thankfully highlighted this week by fellow cartoonist Phil Elliott, offers meta-fictional mystery and mischief as the award-winning artist of From Hell sets out to find his own imposter.

Plus, on the flipside, you get a deluxe new presentation of The Fate of the Artist, Eddie Campbell’s classic work of graphic meta-memoir!

SIDE A: The Second Fake Death of Eddie Campbell, by Eddie Campbell, is a spiritual sequel to his acclaimed graphic novel The Fate of the Artist, in which the author was missing from his own autobiography. Many years later, during an endless Covid lockdown in which everybody wears a mask and needs a haircut, Eddie’s wife is certain that he has been supplanted by an imposter.

*Art from The Second Fake Death of Eddie Campbell*

She hires a detective, the square-jawed Royler Boom, to solve the mystery. What follows — interspersed with Campbell’s trademark wry anecdotes, dreams, parodic pastiches, and pandemic peccadilloes — is a thrilling investigation that builds to a car chase and a violent conclusion. The author cunningly passes this off as another piece of autobiography.

SIDE B: The Fate of the Artist In an autobiography, the author and the subject are the same person… but now they’ve both gone missing. The Fate of the Artist is a complex weaving of different strains of invention including a mock prose detective story, an imaginary Sunday comic strip, a mock fumetti-style interview with the author’s daughter, intertwined with Campbell’s beloved brand of autobiographical comic storytelling.

In this deluxe reissue of a groundbreaking book, the award-winning cartoonist of From Hell and Alec presents a complex, caustic, and fiendishly clever meditation on the lonely life of the artist and the busy life that swirls around him.

• Buy The Second Fake Death of Eddie Campbell & the Fate of the Artist through Bookshop.org

• Eddie Campbell is online at eddiecampbelldammit.com

With thanks to Phil Elliott

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.