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Chris Cilla's Heavy Hand is a surrealistic story that borders on the mystical. The inane banalities of everyday life are counterposed by shocking breaks with reality that are perceived by the characters as just slightly out of place. The desert motif and mythical qualities of the storyline can't help but to bring to mind the writings of Carlos Castaneda. The style is wonderfully balanced between the classic alternative graphic-novel culture of the late '60s and '70s, and yet it's evocative of the early mid-century comic artisans, while retaining something that is uniquely Cilla's own. Outstanding and challenging in equal parts without the danger of falling into postmodernist, self-aggrandizing schlock. Outstanding!