Secret Times

When two simple hobos-a pigeon and his elephant buddy-are wrongfully accused of murdering Mr. Mouse Mouser, the consequences are dire. Secretimes delineates an alternate universe-a world that fa- vors the rich and grinds the poor and unfortunate into paste. Each page is a brightly colored nightmare populated with vapid celebrities and lazily scheming businessmen. Keith Jones creates a pop parable that is stunning and alluring to look at and hellish to live in. Graffiti- covered walls, melting neon figures, idiosyncratic sound effects, and anthropomorphized bros meld together in this satire of modern life and mod- ern values. His sense of humor is manic, snick- ering, and surreal, each line imbued with a rich sense of irony. Jones's pacing gives each page a frenzied paranoia that belies his charcters' fantasies of utter control. Secretimes is darkly funy in Jones's irresistibly offkilter signature style.