Black Hole
by Charles Burns
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Book Summary Information
Author: Charles BurnsEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-10-18
ISBN: 037542380X
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Pantheon
Book Reviews of Black Hole
Book Review: "As I looked the hole opened, and I could feel myself tumbling down into nothingness"
Summary: 5 Stars
During the mid 70s in suburban Seattle, all types of teenagers find themselves confronted with the range of "teen" problems. Relationships, trying to fit in, phobias about how they look and how they dress; the list of awkward situations seems transcendent when it comes those years and their portrayal here is no exception. The one thing that is not transcendent amongst teenage experiences is the strange disease that seems to be wreaking havoc on random people in the teenage population and that nobody seems safe from. Unsure of what it is or even how you get it, "the bug" causes more problems than anything high school seemed capable of dreaming because it took so many problem and magnified them. Like an STD of the most horrific kind, people find themselves with terrible deformities that are sometimes concealable and sometimes aren't, that ostracize already outcast people even more, and the infected also find themselves wearing a shade of something that is far from curable.
Let the savagery begin.
One of the things about Black hole is that the storyline is engrossingly bizarre. You begin by following around characters that have "the bug" and some that do not have it, and you slowly find yourself thrust onto a surreal platform where life is suddenly - and sullenly - transformed. Sometimes some of the tales are presented like dreamscapes, and sometimes some of the features are presented in ways that make you feel terrible for the characters involved. You see lovers expose themselves to terrible situations, a make-out session turn into a horrific scene as a little neck-mouth is confronted, and you see the powderkeg ignite as people are pushed too far and react in the most grizzly of fashions. Although sometimes terrible in its presentation and sometimes sickening, these ingredients make it hard to look away from and even harder to put down.
As a follower of the series, I was somewhat spellbound by the story and I was taken by the art. When it first came out it seemed very much like a dream, and the idea of "the bug" was one you didn't have until you found it in an awkward situation. Everything here is done in black and white and gives the story an even more detached quality as well, and the stories become really episodic and leave you wanting more. When the hardcover came out I was really happy about the prospect, too, because it was nice to see Black Hole finally become available for some type of mainstream consumption. The series took ten years from inception to completion, and some of the original comics had become hard to find and harder to introduce people to because it seemed like it would never finish. Cost became an issue as well, billing at five dollars an issue, which became an expensive proposition even if they hadn't been marked up. You could also feel the comics moving and you knew the number of issues would end at ten, but delays became a steady thing that made on the most focused fans keep on hoping. Combine that with the fact that there was no guarantee that the series would really be finished and you had something that scared off a lot of the original audience. Now, however, you have the guarantee that you will understand "the bug" and you have affordability and also the over-all vision that can be read from beginning to end.
To me, that makes it a must read for anyone wanting a detailed story, beautiful artwork, and a bizarre quest that confronts some reallife issues that people deal with all the time.
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