Scott McCloud--a cartoonist nicknamed the "Aristotle of Comics" for his nonfiction trilogy explaining the art of the comic book (beginning with Understanding Comics)--explores the seedy side of art, the soul and human desire in The Sculptor. David Smith--not the real life sculptor David Smith--is a down-and-out sculptor living on the last vestiges of the fame he attained as the favored artist of a wealthy patron. He is nursing a hangover in a diner when he meets Death in the guise of his long-dead Uncle Harry. Uncle Harry offers David a deal: 200 days of creativity and fame in exchange for his life.
David agrees and is content to meet his maker until his "angel" appears. Meg, a careless, manic-depressive bike messenger with a savior complex, forces David to confront--and ultimately embrace--the darkness in his life that hinders his artistic abilities, and the fear and anxiety of being an artist whose work is on the verge of being forgotten. As David seeks to make the most of his remaining days, manically creating abstract pieces that represent the time line of his short life, he learns what it means to love and be loved, to have something within his grasp only to lose it when he least expects it.
McCloud, a master of the medium, renders a story that is at once familiar, original and emotionally resonant. He focuses his attention on the anxieties that plague talented young people who haven't performed to the best of their abilities, and situations in which the opportunities that can make or break a career prove just as fleeting as the fame that accompanies them. --Nancy Powell, freelance writer and technical consultant