Concrete: The Complete Short Stories, 1990-1995

Concrete

by Andrew Vachss, Paul Chadwick (Illustrator)

Ron Lithgow's new, 1200-pound body has its good it lets him do some things and see some places. But it draws a clear line between him and normal people, and in the end he'd much rather be just plain Ron Lithgow, and not Concrete.

Genres: Comics, Fiction, Comic Book, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

117 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1996

About the author

Andrew Vachss has been a federal investigator in sexually transmitted diseases, a social-services caseworker, a labor organizer, and has directed a maximum-security prison for “aggressive-violent” youth. Now a lawyer in private practice, he represents children and youths exclusively. He is the author of numerous novels, including the Burke series, two collections of short stories, and a wide variety of other material including song lyrics, graphic novels, essays, and a “children’s book for adults.” His books have been translated into twenty languages, and his work has appeared in Parade, Antaeus, Esquire, Playboy, the New York Times, and many other forums. A native New Yorker, he now divides his time between the city of his birth and the Pacific Northwest.

The dedicated Web site for Vachss and his work is
www.vachss.com. That site and this page are managed by volunteers. To contact Mr. Vachss directly, use the "email us" function of vachss.com.

Reviews

[D.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This second collection of Concrete 'short stories' draws from more varied sources than the previous (which was entirely taken from Dark Horse Presents), and the quality of stories is just as varied. Taken from some some issues of DHP, some of Concrete: Eclectica, ...Odd Jobs and ...Celebrates Earth Day, as well as a couple other one-off books, these tales run from the mundane reality of Concrete's life (e.g., 'King of the Early Evening' and 'American Christmas') to experimental flights of fancy (like 'A Billion Conscious Acts' and 'I Strive for Realism'). Some are gems ('...Conscious Acts' was a departure from typical storytelling with some fascinating factoids; 'Fire at Twilight' and 'What Needs to Be Done' were both sharp and gritty forays into crime drama), some...not so much (the lengthy diatribe of 'Like Disneyland, Only Toxic' was pretty unbearable, being as it is Concrete practicing a self-righteous Earth Day speech; 'Steel Rain' was a vaguely hypocritical Save the Rainforest adventure that just didn't work for me). Overall, this presents another varied (for better or worse) picture of the range of Chadwick's talents as well as the possibilities of Concrete the character and Concrete the title. Though it got off to a rough start ('Like Disneyland...' is the third story, and really kills the pace early on) and had some rocky going, by the end of the book I was ready to move on to Complete Concrete.
This edition adds a charming-but-pointless introduction from Chadwick's friend Mark Verheiden and Jamie S. Rich offers an informative illustrated history of Concrete's life, with an abbreviated bibliography.

[Owen Townend · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entering a series midway through is normally a bad idea but I actually quite enjoyed being introduced to Concrete through later short fiction.

By the 90's, Paul Chadwick had been writing the adventures of his seminal protagonist Concrete for a decade and so his grasp of character in this collection is firm but also suitably relaxed. Ron Lithgow was a political speech writer until he and his friend were abducted by aliens that experimented on them and transplanted their brains into large rock-like bodies. After escaping, Ron was stuck in his new body and given a new identity by his government. Indulging a lifelong desire to be an adventurer, Concrete has since formed new friendships, made a couple of enemies and helped wherever he could.

Concrete's absurd origin story would have probably been a more fun entry point to this series but I enjoyed getting to the essence of his worldview and relationships with other characters. I found the thoughtful nature of these stories rather soothing and surprisingly educational. The lessons in environmentalism alone are well-executed and reminded me to marvel at miniature lifeforms.

Chadwick's style permeates this collection, showing an author at play with the world he has created. In a rare fantastical moment, he even fully self-inserts to interact with Concrete and offer him some much-needed explanation, albeit briefly.

I'm glad I picked up this collection. It confirmed my instincts about Chadwick's storytelling choices and Concrete's overall tone and now I'm ready to start from book one. I recommend Concrete: The Complete Short Stories, 1990-1995 to anyone else curious to see a big stone man tackling problems with thought and humility, as well as strength and resilience.

Notable Stories

• A Billion Conscious Acts - a beautiful and eye-opening sequence showing the natural world we cannot see in a single footprint.

• What Needs To Be Done - a missed connection shows people's capacity for self-defence, with shocking consequences.

• I Strive for Realism - a story that shatters the fourth wall, plays with abstract imagery and questions existence, on a forest trail.

[Dominick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. Chadwick's art is decent enough (and occasionally very good indeed), and I suppose that when these stories were first published they might have stood out from a lot of the other comics of the time, given how Chadwick makes Concrete a superhero who really doesn't do anything superheroic; there aren't major battles, wicked villains, and other staples of superhero comics. Indeed, many of these stories don't require a 1200-pound concrete humanoid with a regular human brain in that body to work. Basically, what if a "superhero" lived a mundane life and rarely if ever did anything with his power? That's where we are here, and in the early 1990s, that might have seemed innovative, but I don't think it has aged well because the stories, considered as such, just are not that strong. A few aren't even stories at all, so much as meditations on subjected evidently dear to Chadwick, such as environmentalism. I have no issue with that interest, but the "stories" at times end up with just a lot of ... well, pontificating is probably too strong a word, but a lot of talk about the environment. "Show, don't tell" is a cliche, to be sure, but it is also not untrue. The stories with plots are also not that interesting. Indeed, one involving a lame revenge plot against Concrete, to be achieved by videotaping him in a humiliating encounter, really strains credibility. The final story, Chadwick's foray into meta, which was something of a vogue in comics around then, is moderately interesting (especially when it imagines Concrete's passage through time as, well, literally concrete) but feels like an indulgence. Id does, however, feature the best artwork in the book. Anyway, I've read two Concrete books now without being super-impressed, so I doubt I'll pursue others.

[Braden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concrete is beautiful! These stories start of a little idealistic, and political, but I think they end up closer to applied philosophy, on small and grand scales, as they progress. These stories cover a surprising range, and its clear that Chadwick had a very complex vision for Concrete as a character and that he was successful in depicting him as such. Very cute, with amazing illustrations.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

The follow-up to Concrete: Complete Short Stories 1986-1989

Concrete is not a superhero. He's not the Hulk smashing everything in his path. He's not The Thing shouting «It's Clobberin Time» before going into action.
In fact, there is very little action in Concrete's life. In some ways, you even get to pity the poor schmuck that had his brain transfered into a big pile of rock by a bunch of mysterious aliens. He actually probably lost more than he gained... his sense of touch is practically innexistent, no more taste buds, no more sense of smell either... also try to imagine what a guy like him's sex life is like... he doesn't wear any clothes and, well, it's pretty obvious there a part of male anatomy that just aint there. OK, so he got these amazing eyes and great strenght. But in world where superheroes are innexistant, he makes due as any of us would with what he's got on a day to day basis trying not to let his «handicap» pull him down.
One could say that Concrete is one of the most normal guys in the world. He could be anybody you just happen to cross on the street on any given day... except he's big and, you know, made of concrete.

Contains a bunch of short stories compiled mostly from Dark Horse Presents into a neat and nice package.

[matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the short stories. Chadwick is able to create so many different moods with each one. Very beautiful work!