Eddie Campbell’s The Second Fake Death of Eddie Campbell & The Fate of the Artist presents an eclectic and self-reflective exploration of the artist’s life, imbued with the themes of artistic loss, rediscovery, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This graphic novel stands out for its audacious blend of autobiographical storytelling and various artistic styles, which range from cartoonish to hyper-realistic. The shifting art styles effectively mirror the tumultuous narrative, contributing to the book’s unique charm.

The depth of the characters, particularly Eddie Campbell himself, is both intriguing and complex. Campbell navigates through a series of faux-deaths and artistic transformations that mirror his personal and professional struggles. This meta-narrative allows readers to delve into Campbell’s psyche, exploring themes of identity and artistic legacy. The involvement of Campbell's daughter, Hayley Campbell, whose humor and insight enrich the storytelling, adds an additional layer of authenticity and emotional resonance. Her contributions, whether through direct participation or the influence on the narrative, offer a poignant touch.

Despite the novel’s innovative approach and humor, which can be quite intellectual and laden with references, it may pose challenges for readers unfamiliar with Campbell. The frequent shifts in style and tone, while artistically bold, can disrupt the emotional attachment to the characters. Nevertheless, the novel succeeds in crafting a distinctive and engaging narrative, appealing to those who appreciate a layered, reflective take on the artist’s journey.

I read the "Bacchus" comics and enjoyed them. I wasn't sure about "The Second Fake Death of Eddie Campbell & The Fate of the Artist" by Eddie Campbel. But my doubts were dismissed. I really enjoyed the different changes Eddie experienced and the people around seeing the mysterious actions he has taken. It read as a comic-detective story, just as the book description reads.

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.
The book contained a collection of comics, some of which were interconnected. The humor and art were not to my taste, but not bad. If you are a fan of the author, then this book is for you.

It was a weird experience. I enjoyed the different stories at first, but after a while I was frustrated by all the changes that kept me from getting attached to the characters. I loved the mix of mediums, it brought an original touch to this graphic novel. The humor was a little too intellectual for my taste, and since I didn't have all the references, I had a hard time feeling involved in this read.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher IDW Publishing, Top Shelf Productions for an advanced copy of this autobiographical graphic novel, with a hint of fiction, a bit of oddness.

Considering the state of the world, and especially the comic industry I am surprised that more creators and illustrators are not faking their deaths and going off the grid. Comics have deadlines, no money, artificial intelligence stealing work, Marvel movies sucking up all the air, and making movie screens darker and darker literally with their films. Thankfully Eddie Campbell is more of a storyteller than a doer and has only thought of escape from it all in cartoon form. Actually he has thought of it twice, fifteen years earlier and now post- pandemic. The Second Fake Death of Eddie Campbell & The Fate of the Artist is comprised of two stories, the obvious The Second Fake Death of Eddie Campbell being the second and The Fate of the Artist being the earlier work, told in a new updated deluxe edition.

The stories are presented in a flip style book with a Side A and Side B. The Second Fake Death of Eddie Campbell deals with the artist, Eddie Campbell as a locked-down man. Set during the Pandemic with COVID and Karens running around Campbell deals with long hair, masks, bad jokes, and not being able to get much in the way of work done. Eddie's wife becomes certain that he has been replaced with a double, and hires a B-Movie looking detective, Royce Bloom, to find out what is going on, and if the truth is what the artist says it is. Along the way Campbell tries to solve his own mystery of who wrote an early comic strip from 100 years ago, and how to socialize after being trapped inside for long on. And he seems to lose his pants, a lot. The Fate of the Artist is from 15 years earlier a story told about a missing artist Eddie Campbell told in interviews with family, friends and shown in a variety of different art styles.

The story, well both stories are autobiographical, with COVID tales, discussions about projects lost, forgotten or suddenly unimportant. Songs, art, book titles are mentioned, fakes newspaper strips are told. For some this sounds uninteresting, but for many this is great fun, with easter eggs hidden all over, lots of mentions from past works, and just an odd story that is different from what one sees, told well and with a lot of feeling. The art changes, from cartoony, to early newspaper strip, to hyper realistic even sort of that fotoplay look that publishers used to make with film stories. There is a realism, even when things get fantastic. Many scenes stick out, my favorite being an interview that his daughter gives about Campbell being missing that is just funny, and told and presented so well. I wonder about the contribution of certain people. His daughter Hayley Campbell is a writer, whose book All the Living, All the Dead is worth a read, and I wonder if he let her write her scenes. It is touches like this that really make the work resound.

For fans of Eddie Campbell's work this will be a big hit. For people who like autofiction, and where it can go, they should try it, and will probably enjoy. And for people who like their comics slightly off, this would be a perfect gift to buy for oneself.

The art style is personally not for me, as well as the humor, thus, not really hitting the mark for me.

Whimsical, random, odd, off-kilter, both "fake death" stories by the legendary artist from Watchmen and From Hell and other comics, the first is brand new, a Covid story, in other words a man gone mad in isolation with his wife Audrey, who plays straight woman/wife to his madcap rando bizarreness. Thrown in for good measure (or comparison) is the first Fake Death Eddie story, The Fate of the Artist, which is even more elliptical and less amusing. I liked the most recent one better for the Audrey sidekick banter. There's failed comics started during Covid, so you get a sense of wasted time during lockdown, something we can all relate to. Something sorta Brit tongue in cheek humor I struggled to catch up to. But I read the whole thing. Ephemera, off bits, tap dancing, baffling cartooning, pages of non-cartooning with all text, little cartoon inserts throughout. This review matches the pace and structure of the two texts and the fillers. Ta!

I had never read an Eddie Campbell book before and I was not prepared for the mix of medium which is not for me. That said, I appreciated the humour style and this edition with both books in one makes for an interesting comparison.

Thank you NetGalley and IDW Publishing for this ARC.

It's a cerebral, weird, and challenging experience, the two sides are really experimental, so it may not be for everyone. The aesthetic use a combination of comics, photos, text, and illustration and the narrative is aware of that. It captures the absurdity of the pandemic period on the first side and the deconstruction of the life of the artist on the second. I’d recommend this graphic novel to people who love over-the-top experimental comics and enjoy creative writing.

I found this text quite enjoyable. It’s brimming with irony and references to music, art, and literature. The illustration style of both “features” reminds me of Zines from the 1990s. It’s modernized and presented in full color, but otherwise matches zines in tone and style. I found the blend of photos, found objects, and styles of paper throughout the novels very interesting to consider. And the narrative is aware of the way it’s presented—at one point, the main character’s wife points out that he’s been using photos instead of illustrating everything from scratch.

As a commentary on life during the pandemic, I think this is one of the most poignant texts I’ve seen. It utterly captures the absurdity of that time. From the caricature of Karen to the speculation about masks, the author documents experiences that many of us shared as we experienced the development of COVID-19.

I’d recommend this graphic novel to anyone studying creative writing or graphic design. Anyone looking to understand the emotions and experiences of people during the pandemic would find this text interesting.