Foodboy

Rating:
Summary: Hope & Loss in a Literary Landscape
Review: Carol Swain is one of the few comic artists/writers who has elevated the genre into the realms of literature,and she continues the process in her new graphic novel Foodboy. Set in Wales, it tells the story of a friendship between two lads, Gareth and Ross, whose bounds are tested when Ross beins to withdraw from the "real" world to the point that he almost becomes feral. In a desperate attempt to understand what has happened to his friend, Gareth reviews in his mind the circumstances that led to this strange situation, so that he - and we - constantly shift back and forth in time.
I will not give any more away, except to say that there was hope as well as loss.
Beautifully drawn in black and white, this is a very disturbing story that leaves the reader with a sense of unease, and demands further readings.
Judging from the terrific endorsement from Alan Moore on the back cover (hidden under a cloud - look for it) - I'm not alone in thinking that Swain is one of the best writers in so-called adult comics today.

Rating:
Summary: Imaginatively written and memorably illustrated
Review: Imaginatively written and memorably illustrated in black-and-white by Carol Swain, Foodboy is an impressive graphic novel. Set amid overcast Wales with rocky land, Gary the Foodboy shares a sometimes agonizing friendship with Ross, a feral outsider choosing to live upon the margins of society. Dark, gritty, and warily peeling away illusions of humanity, Foodboy is at once chilling and contemplative. Mature themes are present in this engrossing tale of survival and psychological struggle.