He is staring out at us from deep shadow in front of the retro-future city of his dreams, now the city of his nightmares, its towering, inhuman skyscrapers swathed in arcing searchlights. Our first glimpse revealed only his long raincoat, eyeless round spectacles and bald head, like some cracked Le Corbusier. I was so struck by their first iconic promotional poster, I had it framed on my walls for years. Urban living takes its toll of many of us, but what does an architect do when the very city he has designed drives its inhabitants insane? As its creator, wouldn’t he become the maddest of all? Canadian imagineers Dean Motter and Paul Rivoche unleashed Mister X, their architect turned enigmatic anti-hero, in 1983. (Nov.'This burg’s produced more freaks and weirdos than any other city, old or new…' A treat for longtime fans and new readers alike, this journey through one man's waking nightmare is still an eyeball-popping visit to a stunning retro future.

The landmark series, with its nods to German expressionism and Bauhaus, introduced readers to the early work of several artists who would become influential in alternative comics, including the Hernandez brothers ( Love and Rockets In order to accomplish his task, Mister X must forgo sleep entirely, with the help of a drug known as “insomnalin,” as well as battle a revolving group of thugs. Purporting to be one of the city's original architects, Mister X is determined to repair the broken metropolis, which has gone mad as a result of his own invention of “psychetecture,” wherein buildings can alter a person's mood or neuroses.

The brainchild of Toronto-based graphic designer Motter, the first issue of Mister XĪppeared in 1984 and introduced readers to the shadowy title character who had returned to Radiant City after a long absence. Almost 25 years after he first haunted the streets of the dystopian metropolis known as Radiant City, the mysterious Mister X returns in this beautifully restored collection, showcasing the comic's entire run.

Mister x seth