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Feb 16, 2011 Web Exclusive By Kyle Lemmon

Daytripper is the extremely poignant story of the famous Brazilian writer Brás de Oliva Domingos. Essentially, each chapter takes a year from his life and showcases how each moment in anyone's life is present because you never know when you'll kick the bucket. The various deaths at the end of the chapters are often poetic and heartbreaking. The characters are fully realized, the dialogue is natural, and it's all expertly captured with pencil and ink.

Twin brothers Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon take up the primary writing and art departments for all 10 issues of their engaging and eye-popping graphic novel, which is one of the early 2011 highlights from Vertigo. The multiple Eisner Award-winning team easily vault their previous work on Gerard Way's The Umbrella Academy and Joss Whedon's Sugarshock!.

Despite these many accolades, a few chapters, especially chapter nine, flounder due to blocky or crude character models. Domingos' face looks like an unfinished statue and the rich watercolor-like backgrounds lack sharpness. They say twins have an almost supernatural way of communicating with each other and the impressionistic art and realistic script do the same here though. Panels are rigid and straight, but the colors by Dave Stewart and linework by the brothers are the true highlights.

The tragic "endings" can become repetitive, but the human drama always manages to punch your soft underbelly. Parts of this book are extremely touching, especially if you've recently experienced the death of a loved one. Even though this is true, after finishing the last page, a sense of fulfillment and purpose overcame my senses. This one deserves most of its high recommendations. Seek it out. (www.fabioandgabriel.blogspot.com)

Author rating: 7/10