Geophyrd
17-Mar-2006, 12:58 PM
Black Hole is, at times, both fascinating and repellent.
The artwork of the graphic novel is impeccable as is its presentation. The drawings within are remarkably perfect and for once, you have no trouble differentiating between characters, environments and interpreting the images. The book is a solid (like a big textbook) hardback decorated with more of Mr. Burns remarkable art.
The story is not as straight forward as might seem apparent. The artist/author has crafted a tale of a sexually transmitted disease that, on its surface, appears horrific (varied external mutations) and ostracizing. But the deeper story is a dystopic one of the alienation of youth. The period of the story, the 1970s is a perfect one. That was the decade I grew up and much of what takes place aligns very well with my memories. Everything from songs, to images to little touches that the artist supplies.
I won't pretend that there aren't repellent images and thoughts within. The artist does not stay away from portraying nudity and sex with his characters. Instead, he tries to use these images to show vulnerability and the same kind of confused inner life that we experienced and survived back when we were teenagers.
In my humble opinion, I believe Black Hole is a remarkable story, one that they are already talking about making into a film (which part is John Cusack talking about playing??) that I plan to revisit.
The only negative to this review is that the story can be confusing at times. It is not entirely linear and it is unclear what is real or delusion within the mythology of the story. But let's face it, if it was completely clear and straight forward, it would have been boring. Half the fun is decoding Mr. Burns' tale.
The artwork of the graphic novel is impeccable as is its presentation. The drawings within are remarkably perfect and for once, you have no trouble differentiating between characters, environments and interpreting the images. The book is a solid (like a big textbook) hardback decorated with more of Mr. Burns remarkable art.
The story is not as straight forward as might seem apparent. The artist/author has crafted a tale of a sexually transmitted disease that, on its surface, appears horrific (varied external mutations) and ostracizing. But the deeper story is a dystopic one of the alienation of youth. The period of the story, the 1970s is a perfect one. That was the decade I grew up and much of what takes place aligns very well with my memories. Everything from songs, to images to little touches that the artist supplies.
I won't pretend that there aren't repellent images and thoughts within. The artist does not stay away from portraying nudity and sex with his characters. Instead, he tries to use these images to show vulnerability and the same kind of confused inner life that we experienced and survived back when we were teenagers.
In my humble opinion, I believe Black Hole is a remarkable story, one that they are already talking about making into a film (which part is John Cusack talking about playing??) that I plan to revisit.
The only negative to this review is that the story can be confusing at times. It is not entirely linear and it is unclear what is real or delusion within the mythology of the story. But let's face it, if it was completely clear and straight forward, it would have been boring. Half the fun is decoding Mr. Burns' tale.