When I first saw the pitch for Dave Baker's new graphic novel Mary Tyler Moorehawk, I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Not because it was a bad pitch, or annoying or anything. But because I am the exact target audience for something that calls itself a combination of Johnny Quest and Infinite Jest. I also recognize that that's a bold high concept to toss out to potential readers.
But I'm here to tell you that Mary Tyler Moorehawk does not disappoint, and in fact delivers on so much more than the promises of that weird elevator pitch. Although I would argue that it's a bit more House of Leaves than Infinite Jest — to the point that I actually gave up on reading the free advance copy PDF that the publisher sent me, and instead purchased the deluxe hardcover version book on my own, to get the full immersive reading experience.
That alone should be a testament to how wonderful this book was.
The basic setup of Mary Tyler Moorehawk is that Dave Baker (the real life writer/artist) received an anonymous package in his mailbox one day, containing a manuscript by a journalist named…Dave Baker. That manuscript — the book you're reading — contains pages from a comic book called Mary Tyler Moorehawk, which was written hundreds of years in the future by a creator named … Dave Baker. The manuscript also includes numerous articles by the journalist Dave Baker, exploring the creation and legacy of a cult classic TV show that was cancelled too early. That TV was called — you guessed it! — Mary Tyler Moorehawk.
That recursive nature is part of the delightful wackiness of the book. If it hurts your head, don't worry; there are plenty of footnotes to guide you along, and/or create more confusion as they reference other episodes/issues of Mary Tyler Moorehawk that don't exist, or chronicle an absurdly corporatized future that still has yet to come (and also so depressingly hilarious that it feels frighteningly prescient).
The meta-level story of Mary Tyler Moorehawk is really a meditation on physical media, nostalgia, and what it means to make art in a cruelly capitalistic world. Yes, Mary Tyler Moorehawk (the character) is a blatant Johnny Quest analog — the adventurous child of a globe-trotting scientific research organization. And yes, there are Infinite Jest-esque footnotes and House Of Leaves-esque academic writings that reference media that doesn't actually exist.
But in the end, it's ultimately a story about that famous quote so often attributed to Jack Kirby: "Comics will break your heart." After reading this book, I feel like Dave Baker the fictional journalist — haunted by the beauty that was created by Dave Baker the fictional Creator, and by Dave Baker the real-life writer/artist. Mary Tyler Moorehawk is always on my mind now, even though it doesn't really exist. And I love that about it.
Here's the official blurb, in case it's helpful:
WHO IS MARY TYLER MOOREHAWK? How did she save the world from a dimension-hopping megalomaniac? Why was her TV show canceled after only nine episodes? These are just a few of the questions that young journalist Dave Baker begins to ask himself as he unravels the many mysteries surrounding the obscure comic book Mary Tyler MooreHawk. However, his curiosity grows into an obsession when he discovers that the reclusive creator of his favorite globe-trotting girl detective…is also named Dave Baker.
WHAT IS MARY TYLER MOOREHAWK? A compilation of long-lost gee-whiz adventure comics in which the world's strangest family fights to avert Armageddon…and a bundle of magazine articles from a dystopian future where physical property is banned and entertainment is broadcast on dishwashers. It's a document-based detective story that weaves back and forth between worlds, touching on everything from corporate personhood to mutant shark-men to the meaning of fandom and reality itself. It's a show you don't remember…and a book you won't forget.
WAIT, IS THIS REAL? Good question.
Mary Tyler Moorehawk [Dave Baker / Top Shelf / IDW Comics]
