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Andrew Leamon and V. Gagnon's Weird 7 Page Comic
Something I came across yesterday which could easily be filed under the weird art or weird comics category is this seven page short comic entitled Monolith.
Written by Andrew Leamon, illustrated by V. Gagnon, lettered by Buddy Beaudoin and edited by Christa Harader, Monolith is this comic book parable told over seven silent pages. So that means no narration, no dialogue, and no sound effects. It's a short story that gives the art time to breath and the ability to take in a largely psychedelic short that is as rapturous as it is foreboding.
Andrew was quite the supporter of my last blog venture so I wanted to share a couple of pages of Monolith and link you to where you can read this very strange tale - FOR FREE.
Monolith starts by introducing the reader to this modern day world filled with floating monolith statues that are surrounding a major city. While the exact number of Monoliths and the matter of if they are surrounding every city on the planet remains unclear.
This moves on to a scene on page 2 involving some kind of priest or minister or religion who reveals one of the monoliths - perhaps as a flashback - to his many followers. A commentary on populist religion or politics, perhaps? One thing is certain - V. Gagnon certainly hasn't held back in the drawing of this figure who looks very sinister, cult-like Jim Jones stereotype.
Following on from page 3 and beyond is this transformation of art that would've fit right in with the early days of Heavy Metal Magazine or maybe even a random slotted-in last minute short in 2000 A.D. It certainly evokes feelings of early Mœbius or Philippe Druillet. There's a lot of high concept LSD induced artwork transmogrifying the remaining story as the Monoliths seek to enslave or melt down the human race into its core components needed to preserve... something? The cosmos?
Or maybe the Monoliths are just a group of bastards who look a little like the Angels from Doctor Who? You be the judge. When it comes to context-lite art like this seven page diddy, there are no wrong or right answers. It's all a matter of perspective, yo.
What did you think of Monolith?
Did you come to the same conclusion on the meaning behind this 7 page short silent story as I did?
Let me know on social media.
