The Dead Muse

Phil Bentley and Maria Pena launched this Fantagraphics series in 1990, a single-issue comic that explores the darkly surreal territory of creative inspiration and its cost. Its title hints at a world where artistic genius is a literal, haunting presence—a muse who may be dead, or dying, or something far stranger. Though brief, The Dead Muse stands as a curious artifact of its era, a moody, one-off meditation on the toll of creation from the alternative-comics scene.