Garlandia
While I wouldn’t call Garlandia a masterful piece of storytelling, Mattotti has total control over his medium, and it’s his careful attention to visual world-building that makes it an artistic triumph worthy of experiencing. Continue reading
That Night A Monster
That Night A Monster is a loving portrayal of the emotional vagaries of childhood: how quickly the comfort of home and family can turn alien and threatening, and how quickly it can change back. Continue reading
Bald Knobber
The sense of rigid claustrophobia emanating from shabby circumstances saturated with ambient violence seems very much of the moment, and the current moment perhaps closer to the circumstances of the original Bald Knobbers than we’d care to comment. Continue reading
Slum Wolf
Shaded faces are a fixture of Tadao Tsuge’s Slum Wolf. From the collection’s opening piece, “Sentimental Melody”, and throughout the book, figures come into view with their features obscured. “Melody” begins with a man visiting a sex worker; Tadao shows … Continue reading
Permanent Press
Luke Healy’s Permanent Press is a book so meta (and so self-deprecatory) that I almost expected it to disappear after I read it. Ostensibly, it’s a volume that collects two longish stories from Healy, “The Unofficial Cuckoo’s Nest Study Companion” … Continue reading
On A Sunbeam
I think the book, drawn quickly and then lightly edited for print, could have been tightened up. But as a graphic novel, it’s still a fun read and a crazy-impressive testament to one young auteur’s creativity and work ethic. Continue reading
Infidel
Infidel will disturb you, but it’s may also send you out with a newfound sense of faith in humanity. Continue reading
Passing For Human
Passing for Human does not stoop to simplify for the sake of anyone unwilling to accept Finck’s ruthlessly narrative on its own terms. Continue reading
