I just finished Fortune and Glory: A True Hollywood Comic Book Story by Brian Michael Bendis.
I really enjoyed it. While I'm no stranger to Bendis' prolific body of work (Powers is my personal favorite), this was the first time I've read any of his earlier work...you know, before he became huge and started writing half of Marvel's books. I haven't read Goldfish or Jinx, his early crime comics that he wrote and did the art for, but after reading Fortune and Glory, I'm definitely going to dig them up.
I was impressed to find out that besides being a great writer, Bendis is a hell of a visual story teller. His art on Fortune and Glory, isn't mindblowing, but it works to tell the story. It turns out, a lot of the techniques I've seen employed by the top notch artists Bendis partners with these days for his mainstream work were techniques he was using way back then. It's clear Bendis has always approached the comic page from an artist's perspective.
Fortune and Glory is an autobiographical account of Bendis' misadventures in Hollywood, and his often frustrating experience trying to get his early graphic novels made into motion pictures. It's a quick read and very funny. It still holds up a decade or so after publication, and even though you know things end up working out quite well professionally BMB, he's still a compelling underdog character you want to route for.
If you see it at your local comic shop, or like I did in the graphic novel section of my local library (love my library), I definitely recommend giving it a shot.
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