Almost Completely Baxter

Surely I had come across the absurdities of "Colonel" Baxter before, but never in such a concentrated fashion: in this career-spanning collection, the illustrated incongruities of this British madman snowball into a deeply satisfying weirdness. Distant cousins of Edward Gorey's hapless society dames and Gary Larson's bewildered scientists, Baxter's cowboys and explorers set fire to their own kneecaps and are flummoxed by a giant nougat. But no description of their adventures can capture the deadpan balance on which their uncanny silliness precariously but confidently depends, so here are a few favorites.