Wally Gropius: The Umpteen Millionaire

Superficially resembling 1960s teenage humor comics, Tim Hensley's graphic novel Wally Gropiusis actually an acute satire of power, celebrityhood, and modern culture that tells the story of the titular character, who bears a closer resemblance to a teenaged Richie Rich or a classmate of Archie Andrews at Riverdale High than he does the famous Bauhaus architect whose name he shares.

Wally is the human Dow Jones, the heir to a vast petrochemical conglomerate. When the elder Thaddeus Gropius confronts Wally with the boilerplate plot ultimatum that he must marry "the saddest girl in the world" or be disinherited, a yarn unravels that is part screwball comedy and part unhinged parable on the lucrativeness of changing your identity.

Hensley's dialogue is witty, lyrical, sampled, dada, and elliptical, all in the service of a very bizarre mystery. There's sex, violence, rock and roll, intrigue, and betrayal, all brought home in Hensley's truly inimitable style. Created during an era when another well-off 'W' was stuffing the coffers of the morbidly solvent, Wally Gropius transforms futile daydreams and nightmares into the absurdity of capital.

"Hensley manages to create something rather unique and deeply rewarding in Wally Gropius. This is a comic that rewards multiple readings and contemplation. It's also one of the best — and funniest — books of the year." Robot 6

From the pages of MOME, a grown-up Richie Rich.

Tim Hensley was born in Bloomington, Indiana in 1966, but now lives in Hollywood with his wife and pets. Wally Gropius is his first book.