Killing and Dying: Stories
Ratings35
Average rating4.2
These are great. Subtle and moving, dry funny, the mundane and the slightly weird. I'd like them even more if he'd link them.
The synopsis says they are “interconnected”. What did I miss?
A collection of graphic short stories that show what the medium can do. Each is a unique, somewhat melancholic examination of living in the 21st century. I love how Tomine uses illustrations to tell a story as well. In “Translated, from the Japanese” we never see the characters in the story - just glimpses of what they see. And in Killing and Dying a secondary, heartbreaking story is told without words that culminates quietly with a blank panel that's seems a minor hiccup but encompasses worlds.
A few weeks ago, I started a new campaign: to give Graphic Novels a fair shot. I've never read anything that could be considered a graphic novel, but for the next several months, I intend to read many, pushing forward until I just can't take it any more. I figured it would take a while for me to find something I loved, something that made me a believer in the genre. Then I discovered Adrian Tomine.
My second “graphic novel,” Adrian Tomine's Killing and Dying, isn't truly a graphic novel as it is a collection of stories. Is Graphic Short Story Collection a term? Doesn't matter. This collection is fabulous and exactly what I was looking for: a story (or in this case a collection of stories) that stands on its own but uses the medium of visual art to elevate it or simply to give it a different perspective. For the large part, these stories are engaging, poignant, and insightful. These are stories that take place in the midst of everyday living, offering glimpses of those significant moments when internal conflict changes a person. A couple of the stories left me wondering long after, questioning whether the “obvious” conclusion was only one layer of what I was to take away. This stories stuck with me, the added images leaving me with faces and scenes that imprinted themselves on my memory as being of equal importance.
Tomine's art is fantastic. Each story is presented in a different style, a different set of colors, and a different perspective. I'd never before considered that graphic novelists could have such a range of storytelling options. As a fellow writer, I can't help but marvel at a motif that is as carefully selected for each piece as point-of-view, narrative style, and characterization are mulled over by more traditional writers.
So, now I'm a believer. The next question is, how many Tomines are out there? Did I happen to so easily stumble upon one in a million, or will I discover many others who are equally impressive? The search continues.
Superhero Count: Zero.