Mortals

A nearly over-the-hill actor works hard at sabotaging his shot at success in this glum, grumbly, and mortality-minded graphic novel about life, love, and the vicissitudes of an artistic career in New York City. Written by Woods (Always Blue) and drawn by L., the story opens with aging acting teacher Francis learning that his young son Courtney’s close friend has died in an accident. When Francis can’t remember the boy’s name, it sparks an explosion from his long-suffering wife Claudette, who accuses him of self-absorption and then announces: “You really have no clue.... Tomorrow we start. We get the divorce.” Subsequent events—including Francis embarrassing them both at a school fundraiser gala with his belligerent drunken pontificating and his agonizing over whether to accept a film role costarring with a teenage pop singer—do not disprove her charge. The distinctive black-and-white art gracefully renders the tree-lined streets and cafés of genteel hipster Brooklyn, which proves in some ways a more enticing character than the protagonists. Though Francis’s immaturity and theatrical moaning about his advancing age is given a light dusting of mockery, that narcissism still nearly swallows the book whole. Fans of tales about self-destructive creatives, though, will appreciate the urbane humor on full display. (Mar.)