Someone gave me a book token for my birthday, so I went to the local bookshop (David's in Letchworth) to see what took my fancy. I have been getting into graphic novels and they have a selection there. I wanted something a bit different and this one caught my eye.
I had not heard of Joshua W. Cotter before. He seems to favour black and white drawings, but some of them are really intricate.
The book starts off pretty odd with little clue as to what is coming.
It eventually settles into the story of scientist Melody McCabe who has been sent to a space station where a project is going on around some sort of joint consciousness. It is not made totally clear what that is. These parts are quite dialogue heavy and sometimes there is little action going on.
You can see a few more pages on his site.
There is another story running in parallel of a unnamed guy who emerges from some sort of statis chamber and goes off on an adventure. That has no real dialogue.
I found out after reading a fair bit of this that it is part of a planned sequence of a fair few volumes (maybe seven). The second has been published and he is working on a third.
There is some fairly graphic violence and adult themes, so it may not be one for younger readers.
I have to say I found it bewildering, but engaging, like some arty movies I have watched. You have to admire the vision and artistry. The book does end on a cliffhanger, so I will have to decide whether I get the next one. I have some other books I want to read first.
Graphic novels like this can be relatively expensive, so it is a commitment to get into a series. I have suggesting for the Sandman volumes when people ask me what I want for my birthday. I just have not had time to get into the Netflix version of that, but I will soon.
Happy reading.
