A surreal crime-thriller from an Italian master. This original full-length graphic novel by Italian comics superstar Francesca ("The Wipeout," "Pastil," "Pop. 666" inZero Zero) Ghermandi combines her trademark surreal graphics (executed in stunningly subtle pencil tones this time) with a hardboiledKiss-Me-Deadlystyle paranoid thriller. Fleeing his previous life as a factory worker, buffeted by his miserable job, his cruel co-workers, and his overbearing girlfriend, our hapless protagonist, George Henderson, has just arrived in a new city to start over: Grenuord. But Grenuord, rocked by terrorist attacks and therefore in full police-state alert mode, does nothing to assuage George's paranoia--especially as strange occurrences begin to accumulate, including a sinister man who, under the guise of checking George's stove, discovers (and absconds with) a toxic glow-in-the-dark substance from his basement, an abusive neighbor, and a beautiful but elusive hitchhiker with a mysterious past--oh, and did we mention that George is actually dead from page one? Twists and turns abound in this stunningly unique graphic novel.