The Monstrous and the Historical Intertwine in a Spiral Notebook
The work is structured as the personal diary of Karen Reyes, a ten-year-old girl in late 1960s Chicago. Karen, who perceives herself as a creature halfway between human and wolf, is fascinated by horror movies and embarks on an investigation to clarify the homicide of her neighbor Anka Silverberg. This quest, where the boundaries between the real and the imagined blur, leads her to uncover hidden truths about Anka's past as a Holocaust survivor, and about her own family, in a social environment fraught with conflicts. 🐺
A Technical Feat with Bic Pens
Emil Ferris produces the entire graphic novel using only ink pens on paper that recreates the texture and form of spiral notebook sheets. The method is based on an extremely dense and precise cross-hatching, a technique that evokes the tradition of wood or metal engravings. This meticulous work with lines achieves notable volume and depth, endowing each illustration with a unique visual richness that fuses the aesthetics of a child's diary with the complexity of a consecrated work of art.
Key features of the visual style:- Simulated support: The paper convincingly imitates perforated sheets and the feel of an ordinary spiral notebook.
- Shading technique: Uses very tight cross-hatching to create shadows, textures, and a sense of three-dimensionality.
- Humble tool: Achieves powerful graphic effects using mainly blue and black ink pens, like Bic ones.
- Aesthetic fusion: Combines the spontaneity and strokes of a diary with the discipline and detail of classical drawing.
The next time you see a spiral notebook, think that it might hide an investigation into a murder and portraits of monsters made with Bic pens.
Narrative that Weaves Times and Traumas
Karen's investigation serves as the axis to examine major themes. Anka Silverberg's story directly links to the horrors of Nazism in Europe, while Karen's reality reflects the social tensions in 1960s Chicago, including racism and urban violence. The narration flows seamlessly between the girl's present, her neighbor's traumatic memories, and the monstrous fantasies that Karen projects, thus constructing a complex tale about how trauma is processed, identity is formed, and memory is preserved.
Intertwining narrative planes:- Detective investigation: The child's search for the truth about Anka's murder.
- Historical drama: The reconstruction of Anka's life as a Holocaust survivor.
- Social reality: The reflection of the racial and political conflict climate in the Chicago of the time.
- Inner world: Karen's fantasies and monstrous self-perception as a defense mechanism and means of understanding.
A Work About Deciphering the Past
The Monstrous and the Historical Intertwine in a Spiral Notebook demonstrates how an apparently childish investigation can open doors to universal and painful truths. Through a meticulous graphic style and a narrative that fearlessly mixes genres, the work invites the reader to reflect on how the wounds of the collective and family past shape our present. The cross-hatching technique with pens is not just an aesthetic choice, but a perfect visual parallel to the plot: a web of lines (memories, clues, traumas) that, when densified, reveal the complete image of a story. 📖