Skin Deep is a reprint comprising some of Charles Burns' early work going as far back as his days in RAW magazine. Mostly, it's a repackaging and redelivering of Burns' Big Baby, a weekly syndicated strip that ran from 1988 to 1991.

Fans of Burns (and if you like comics, you should be) will be happy to pick up a quality reprint in large format, which is faithful to Burns' amazing inkwork. The primary stories, "Dog Days", "Burn Again" and "A Marriage Made In Hell", are classic Burns shorts that represent the very best of his style – funny, witty, disgusting, quirky and beautiful.

Perhaps not quite as developed in terms of both narrative or illustration as his magnum opus Black Hole, Skin Deep is lighter in tone, with a real playfulness, even in the most haunting and shocking stories. Burns' love of 50s-era love and horror comics is ever-present. From the back cover homage to the fine little details in each character's wardrobe, the loving attention to hairdos, sun glasses, and collared shirts is a real treat.

"Dog Days" is more or less a running gag (a good one at that) but there's a genuine tenderness to the story that makes it more than a cheap laugh. "A Marriage Made In Hell" is maybe too much a direct tribute to the aformetioned wacky horror/ love genre of the golden age. There are plot twists galore, but a lack of any real punch. "Burn Again" certainly stands out as the most interesting strip, but perhaps with rushed deadlines and maybe not enough inspiration, it leaves a real wanting for a more developed story.

Burns isn't one who is particularly heavy on plot or narrative development, letting his illustration do much of the talking. If there could be a comparison, Burns is very much the Quentin Tarantino of the comics world, celebrating the genre fiction of his youth by creating his own – albeit much more fucked up – version of it.
Adrian K. Sanders