Omschrijving
When Richard Sala passed away in 2020, he left behind a uniquely
eldritch body of graphic novels and illustrations, fueled by macabre
whimsy and a love of dark mysteries and vintage monsters.
Like David Lynch, Sala was a painter who turned to a storytelling
medium that allowed him to create inventive narratives inspired by
such disparate influences as French crime fiction, the grim humor
of Charles Addams, the surreal poetry of Jorge Luis Borges, and
his own penchant for all things gleefully ghoulish and sinister.
Originally self-published in an edition of 500 copies in 1984,
Night Drive collects several short stories inspired directly by pulp magazines,
film noir, and Andre Breton — sinister and creepy pieces heavy
on the atmosphere and signaling the creative emergence of a singular
talent finding his footing with the surety of an artist equipped with the
innate mastery of his craft and vision. Night Drive directly led to Sala
contributing to Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly’s Raw and the
adaptation of Night Drive’s “Invisible Hands” for MTV’s Liquid Television,
sparking an almost 40-year career as one of comics’ finest creators
and idiosyncratic creators. Edited by longtime Sala friend Dana
Marie Andra (Web of Horror) and designed by Sala’s friend and fellow
cartoonist Daniel Clowes (Monica, Ghost World), who also contributes
the Afterword, this graphic novella is rounded out with rare artwork,
interviews with Sala about the book, and an essay by Andra.