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Ana Galvañ, trans. from the Spanish by Jamie Richards. Fantagraphics, $19.95 (100p) ISBN 978-1-68396-216-8
Spanish cartoonist Galvañ makes her English-language debut with this darkly funny collection of five untitled short tales, each concerning the deleterious effects of technology on the individual and society. Throughout each piece, Galvañ sustains a provocative ambiguity, goading readers into questioning what is real and what is fabrication. The first story features a virtual reality that might possibly be merged with the real world; while another, set in a circus, stars a creepy “Human Doll” performer who may or may not be human—and perhaps dangerous. In the funniest take, a woman endures a job interview with a manager seemingly determined to make her question her own perceptions. She fights back—or does she? In the final entry, a woman may be the victim of a terrorist organization that plants images in individuals’ minds to “make them go crazy and commit suicide.” Galvañ’s deadpan, anthropological presentation—along with her hapless, geometric characters and Day-Glo color palette—shapes the stories into a unified, organic whole suffused with both paranoia and charm. This artistic import comic, like a season of Black Mirror, will unnerve as it puzzles its readers, leaving them wary of the world around them after reading. (Aug.)
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Reviewed on: 05/16/2019
Genre: Comics