Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer: The Beauty Supply District
Typical of Ben Katchor's recursive, compact style,The  Beauty Supply Districtis actually the title of three distinct entities: this collection of over 80 installments of his 8-panel comic strip "Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer" (appearing inThe Forwardand other weekly papers); a new, 24-page story with which Katchor concludes; and the subject of that final story, a commercial district on the edge of Julius Knipl's imaginary,  melancholy Gotham. In the beauty supply district, the city's aesthetic needs are catered to by businesses like Synthetic A Priori Corp., Surface Meaning Refinishers Inc., and the Senseless Elaboration Parlor.That might be a lot to digest for anyone new to Knipl's wistful, chiaroscuro world (the first two collections of this strip,StoriesandCheap Novelties, might prove more accessible). ButBeauty Supply Districtcaptures Katchor's strip at the height of its form--from semi-professional gravediggers competing at the Cemetery of the Expired Coupon Redeemer  to the chance discovery (at a drug store, naturally) of how  production of cheap writing instruments has far outstripped the demands of poetic inspiration.New York Times Review of Bookscritic Edward Sorel calledJulius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer"perhaps the most original comic strip since ... 'Krazy Kat' more than 80 years ago." Enthusiastic and deserved praise, but all the more reason that--to understand and appreciate something this unique--you really ought to see it for yourself.--Paul Hughes