Lio is one of two newspaper strips that Mark Tatulli has created and this book a collection of the strips. The strip is a pantomime strip,there are no captions and essentially no speech within the strips. This is a considerable constraint as the strip has to convey all the information visually. Mark Tatulli succeeds wonderfully, Lio is a treat, sharp, acidic and very, very funny.
Lio the character is like one of the children from the Adams Family, his interests are all on the grotesque side of existence, in one strip his glee at turning into a werewolf is expressive and complete.
The strips are surprisingly varied, Mark Tatulli includes great variety of targets and situations, the lack of any supporting words has clearly inspired him rather than constrained him in any way.
The art is clean and simple, they have enough detail to convey the intent without drowning them. Lio himself has an innocent air to him, he is driven by curiosity and enthusiasm rather than by any darker motives. This takes the edge of the strips and allows the artist to play with very creepy ideas and images without being repulsive or sadistic.
Lio is sharp, creative and repays rereading.
