Bill Watterson (1) (1958–)

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S THE MYSTERIES ABOUT?
Here's the Publisher's Description, if I try, I'm going to end up telling the whole, brief story:

In a fable for grown-ups by cartoonist Bill Watterson, a long-ago kingdom is afflicted with unexplainable calamities. Hoping to end the torment, the king dispatches his knights to discover the source of the mysterious events. Years later, a single battered knight returns.

I'm not going to say more, even though I think we could use a teensy-weensy expansion to really sell the story. But the story isn't the important part because...

WOW. THE ART!
This is why you pick up this book. Period. You're curious about what Watterson's been up to for the last umpteen years, how his art has changed and developed. What's got his attention? And we won't really know much given how short this book is and how atypical it is, but still, that curiosity is there.

Maybe you know John Kascht's work and want to see what he's been dabbling in.

Either way, this is why you come to this book—and you will be well rewarded for it.

I'm not going to try to explain how these black-and-white images capture so much—and yet, leave so much to the imagination. But I've already gone through this book a few times just to see the art without caring about the words (which, yeah, I've read twice—but not as often). There are a couple of samples here.

Here's a video put out by the publisher where the two artists describe how they worked together (and no, you don't get to see any faces. Just hands and the works in progress).

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT THE MYSTERIES?
Honestly, the story doesn't do much for me. It's fine—good enough to justify your time, but that's it. It feels like the first 50-70% of a Neil Gaiman story (but told in far fewer words). Honestly, anyone who described something like that to me would be enough to get me to pick it up—but I wanted a little more from Watterson.

But the more I think about it, I'm always going to want more from Watterson than he seems willing to give. So I should shut up and be happy about it.

I cannot say enough good things about these images, though—the visual look of the book as a whole, either. I'm so glad I got this just for that experience. And it's an experience I can repeat frequently.

I'm not going to give this a rating, because...I don't know. I can't assign a number to this. I'm just happy to see that Watterson is still out there doing creative things and hope he decides to share some more in the years to come.… (més)

Yes, that's that Bill Watterson, of Calvin & Hobbes fame. This is not Calvin & Hobbes, but it is, perhaps, similar, in that it's something very simple-looking that feels like it has a lot more depth behind it.

I suppose one can only describe it as a picture book for adults. (And I do think it's aimed at adults. It's a bit dark for kids, although maybe how appropriate that is depends on the kid.) The black-and-white illustrations are weirdly compelling, dark and atmospheric in a way that may leave you feeling interestingly off-balance.

The story is just a few short lines per page and has the feel of a slightly abstract fairy tale. Which may not seem like much, but the ending kind of made the hairs on my neck stand up. It ultimately feels very much like an allegory, but the personal exercise of considering what exactly it's an allegory for is, I think, the most interesting part of reading it. So I won't share any of my thoughts on the matter, but only say that I could see at least of couple of different ways of reading it, including a message I like and approve of and one I don't. I'm going with the former, naturally.

In any case, it is definitely a much bigger experience than it looks like you're likely to get out of this small, slim square of a book.… (més)