Adam Burke's "The Splendid Everlasting" is such a tasty, one-two-three combo showcase for his art skills, sense of humor, and erudition, that I actually find myself a bit intimidated by the prospect of doing it justice with this review.

So, I'm not even going to try.

At its most basic level, "The Splendid Everlasting" is a twice-weekly (if you're lucky) gag strip about a bunch of oddballs drinking their lives away at their local pub. I'm pretty sure it's operating at other, multiple levels simultaneously, but I'm not going to try to pretend that I'm smart enough to fully understand Mr. Burke's mad genius.

Simply put, if you like looking at funny pictures and having a chuckle a couple times a week (again, if you're lucky), you owe it yourself, your eyes, your brain and your soul to read this comic.

I'll be checking back in a couple weeks to make sure you're all on board. The punishment for non-compliance shall be grievous.

... read it now!

There's this guy in a bar name of Chauncey. He's the huckster misanthrope par excellence. Occasionally he drinks with a depressed parrot called Spence. Well, I think he's a parrot. He's certainly depressed. The rest of the patrons are a bizarre menagerie of creatures, recognisable or not. Oh, and Renee Descartes (though he's only there for the karaoke).

Enough with the set-up. All you need to know is that The Splendid Everlasting is wonderfully surreal, deadpan, inventive, cynical, pun-ridden and, sometimes, just plain silly. Often to a life-affirming degree. I won't waste your time attempting to describe any of the gags, as I wouldn't be able to improve on Mr Burke's grace of execution. Just go look yourself, and discover the true meaning of Hammercandy. ... read it now!