In a huge plot twist from the universe, Fantagraphics released one final issue of Joe Matt’s autobiographical comic Peep Show one year after his untimely passing and 18 years after Peep Show #14. (I may have purchased the only physical copy in the Nashville metro area.) This comic deals with much of the same material as all of Matt’s previous works, including his addiction to pornography, fetishization of Asian women, frugality, and relationship with Canadian cartoonists, Seth and Chester Brown. But there is some wrinkles thrown in like moving to Los Angeles to pitch Peep Show as a television show to HBO, his relationship with fans of his work, and constant struggles with art block. (We also know the names and details of every woman that Joe Matt has had sex with from youth to 2003 or so.) There’s a real sense of finality to Peep Show #15 that reaches its peak when Seth does a toast at Matt’s farewell dinner, and even though the stories of his relationship with a female American artist named Maggie and his work with HBO ends with “To be continued”, we know they break up and, of course, that Peep Show never got made into a TV show. (It did inspire the name of a hilarious British sitcom though.)

Although it lacks the formal experimentation of his early work, Peep Show #15 delivers the trademark Joe Matt storytelling style, which is precise lines and mark making and overindulgence with his dialogue and balloon placement. He was the perverted love child of Charles Schulz and R. Crumb, and both cartoonists are mentioned in this issue in very different contexts. Matt compares himself to Charlie Brown in a long winded monologue directed at an HBO exec, and then, the comic wraps up with him comparing his work negatively to Crumb and also thinking about selling a copy of Book of Genesis (And Soprano screener DVDs.) to pay the rent. But, self-deprecation aside, Joe Matt is one of the most fluid visual storytellers ever. You can follow an issue of Peep Show just through its protagonist’s facial expressions, and he uses all the classic cartooning short hand like sweat beads (And its drool variant.), speed lines, and lots of negative space and sound effects to make for a pleasant reading experience with an unpleasant protagonist. Also, for better or worse, the supporting characters of Peep Show have a unique look and body type that feeds into how they interact with Matt.

Peep Show #15 (and Joe Matt’s whole ouevre) is full of strange, frankly meme-worthy moments that make it stand out from other autobiographical comics. There’s an early sequence where a rabid Matt fangirl shows up to San Diego Comic Con dressed like Seth and does a mini strip-tease while quoting the names of Peep Show collection volumes and putting prop urine jars (One of Joe Matt’s grosser habits to save money on the water bill.) on his table before she’s called away to Stan Lee’s table. Along with this strangeness, there’s his obsessive hatred for River Cuomo even though they could definitely find common ground in the type of women they’re attracted to. Matt as cult figure is something that’s explored throughout the Peep Show run with him initially being more famous than Seth and Chester Brown, but eventually being eclipsed by them because they actually finished their comic projects. He’s respected by Grammy Award winning artists and Emmy winning writers, but lives in poverty and put out four single issue comics in the 21ste century because of his perfectionism and the mismatch of his writing and art style.

Peep Show #15 is a weird, vulnerable, and impeccably rendered swan song to the comics creator, Joe Matt. Matt wasn’t afraid to spend an entire comic making himself the butt of the joke and putting his idiosyncrasies on display. I enjoyed his interactions with his new friend Brian who reminds a lot of us book and comic hoarders to actually read and savor the gems in our collection instead of letting them pile up. For all his proclivities, Joe Matt loved comics, especially classic comic strips, with a depth and passion that was transferred over to his meticulous work so it’s fitting that the front cover of the book shows him reading a comic on the toilet and the back cover is him flirting with Olive Oyl from Popeye.

Story/Art: Joe Matt Additional lnks: Chester Brown 
Story: 8.0 Art: 10.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy

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