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Post by Administrator on Oct 30, 2005 14:42:03 GMT -5
Black Hole By Charles Burns (Pantheon Books) www.randomhouse.com/pantheonCharles Burns remembers what it feels like to be a teenager - how unsure and exciting everything can be, how an infatuation with someone could consume your every thought, and how isolating and strange the whole experience can be. What's more, he knows how to convey all of it on paper to remind you as well. 'Cause who wants to forget the horrors of puberty? In Black Hole, Burns multiplies those horrors tenfold in his story of teenagers in '70s Seattle suburbia via an STD that affects only teenagers, mutating those who contract it. Some get off light with a tail or a tiny mouth on their neck they can hide; others have their entire faces deformed and are forced to hide out in the woods. Burns has a crisp linework that somehow balances the normalcy of everyday suburbia, the grotesqueness of the deformities and the fluidity of the surreal dream sequences, all in stark black and white. It's a haunting book, perfect for Halloween, not only because of the deformities but also because of just how eerie these teenagers' lives are. There are no adults in this world, and it is a dark, dark place. A truly excellent graphic novel, Black Hole has fully realized characters and a sense of atmosphere that sticks with you long after you put the book down.
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