Concrete Returns
By Dan Brown If nothing else, the summer of 2026 will be remembered as an era when one of my favourite characters returned to comic-store shelves. Concrete is back! By my reckoning, it’s been more than 20 years since the Paul Chadwick creation lumbered into a new adventure. Concrete: Stars Over Sand is a five-part miniseries in which Concrete gets lost in a desert after being hit by lightning, suffering amnesia as part of the ordeal. It picks up pretty much where Chadwick left off in 2005. No one has ever accused him of being prolific. I urge you to pick up the new series – I’ve read the first two issues – if your tastes run to more idea-driven, thoughtful comics. For those who aren’t fans of Concrete, he first appeared in 1986. It was Dark Horse that published the title then, and does so again now. The origin story goes like this: Nebbish political speechwriter Ron Lithgow goes hiking, only to be abducted by aliens who transport his brain into a huge, stony body. They leave Earth, and Ron – realizing he can pull off feats that normal humans can’t – uses this newfound invulnerability to satisfy his thirst for adventure. He has been to the bottom of the ocean, the top of the planet’s tallest peaks, he’s rescued trapped miners, and even been the bodyguard for a Prince-type eccentric singer. He’s also constantly being amazed by the quirks of the alien shell he inhabits, like having incredible night vision. In one previous issue, he even gives “birth” to a smaller version of himself. That “baby Concrete” shows up in this new series, just as mysterious as ever. But the same rocky outer shell that shields Concrete from the elements also makes an ordinary human life impossible. He aches to express his love for researcher Maureen Vonnegut in a physical way, instead having to settle for surrounding himself with erotic paintings. Although the character’s origin has a science-fiction feel and flavour to it, Chadwick has been open about his intention to place the protagonist only in Earth-bound situations. The aliens are never coming back, and their purpose in transplanting Lithgow’s brain remains unknown. So if your favourite thing is do-gooders and baddies destroying cities while beating each other to a pulp, you’ll be unsatisfied with Concrete. He is a hero with the mind of a philosopher and the soul of a poet. How mundane are his activities? The central theme of the last Concrete series, 2005’s The Human Dilemma, was world overpopulation. Try making that idea into a visually exciting comic! Chadwick isn’t interested in violence and mayhem for its own sake. I’m one to lament the disappearance of thought balloons from mainstream comics – well, at least from Marvel’s offerings. It makes me beyond happy to report that the new Concrete story contains A LOT of thought bubbles. (Classic sound effects like KABOOM!, too.) Get Stars Over Sand while you can, because you never know when Concrete’s creator will put out more comics. At the rate he’s going today, Chadwick might not put out his next Concrete story until 2045! Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 33 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly Graphic-Novel Group book club.
