Grotesque

    (Fantagraphics, 2007-2010)
™ and © Fantagraphics Books, Inc.

Sergio Ponchione’s Grotesque: Three Eye-Lands is a story about three men from three different years—1896, 2006, and 2038—who, at the dawning of the New Year, each have a strange encounter with an island that’s been an object of obsession for years. What’s on each island is unclear, though the islands hold the key to soothing the psyches of each of the men in question. Besides the island motif, the men’s stories are also connected by a strange apparition: a fellow in a long black robe known as Mr. O’Blique who seems to have answers for them all, even if he’s not exactly forthcoming with them.

Ponchione’s graphic novel contains a whole lot of symbolism and allegory and demands several re-readings, but there’s a rich and satisfying story within. And his art style is a joy to look at; it’s full of thick lines and lots of black and white contrast, lending the book a cartoony feel that makes it all the more mysterious and unsettling.

— Eric Garneau
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