Insane Comics 2018
Written by Andrew Guilde
Illustrated by Camilo Ponce-Sithralis
"Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live." - Norman Cousins
This has been on my radar for a while now, in that I have kept looking at it and thinking it looks intriguing, and thanks to C2E2 I got the chance to go to the Insane Comics Booth and actually get a copy for myself. James has always been pretty good about getting me comics to review and by now hopefully you’ve seen all the reviews I have done for them. Sometimes you just see a books cover and you can’t shake the feeling you need to have it, it almost haunts you until you read it and for me this was one of those.
I got home opened this up and started reading and I was very much taken aback by the level of storytelling here. Not only does this draw you in immediately but the moment we leave all the swirling colour to a more black & white with grey wash you are already mesmerised and there’s no turning back. The way that Andrew structures this is fantastic and he’s able to create this ebb & flow by using the characters life, tragedy and delusions that just seem to enrich him and make him more relatable and appealing as a person.
Every time I turned the page I didn’t know what to expect which from a readers standpoint is not only perfect because it’s ultra rare a writer can do that but also because it makes things just that much exciting. Andrew is a rare talent and with a lot of long-time comics fans we can pretty much see what’s around the corner but most of my time here was spent trying to stop myself from guessing cause I was wrong all the time. Then there is also the fact that he so intermittently went back and forth in time, or we see things through this skewed vision that I was shivering in antici-- wait for it--- pation.
I think the quote up above which is also on the first page of the issue is profound as it stands. To have it lend credence to the story at hand and to see one man, Damien in this instance, be the centrepiece for it well damn. The writing with it’s dialogue, narration and how the characterisation infuses the plot advancement the way it does makes for some truly remarkable reading. I cannot express enough just how freaking good this is and how it makes you feel as you read it. Sure anyone who has known loss of a loved one will be able to grasp the pain we see in Damien though none should have the experience of his or the encounter later on, and can relate to it and that connection is felt on a level you never anticipate.
The interior artwork here from Camilo is beyond what I could ever have expected or hoped for. The linework here is so remarkable I am not even sure there is an adjective to describe it properly and how he manages the colours in places or just the grey wash so that there’s depth to what we see just makes me say wow. The way Camilo manages to infuse so much emotion into his work is stunning as well as the fact that the attention to detail here never waivers. The way he utilises page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows off a stellar eye for storytelling.
If I could convince you to try one book outside of your comfort zone it would be this one. You honestly have no idea what your missing by not seeking this out and experiencing it for yourself.