Free S**t

Burns (Black Hole) pulls together in this idiosyncratic pocket-size gathering of ephemera process pieces and character sketches that originated as “Free Shit,” an occasional oddball mini-comic that he would hand out to friends. The contents range widely and reveal the plethora of origins and ideas swirling behind Burns’s impeccably designed black-and-white art. Grotesque recurring themes include a single fist with an eye at its center, decaying versions of Archie and Wally Wood’s EC Comics work, and a general looming sense of body horror and dread. Many pages of works-in-progress showcase the astonishing consistency of Burns’s black ink line—more surprising is the tenderness and life of his little-seen unfinished pencil sketches. Stripped to bones, this compendium of unsettling images is a disgusting gem bound to be adored by Burns’s followers. (Sept.)