Anders Nilsen

Now this is what graphic fiction ought to be! There’s a touch of sort of sideways humor, a lot of violence, and a whole ton of philosophy, all from the viewpoint of a flock of birds. I can’t begin to characterize this book, but there are birds, ghosts of birds, some mean and macabre crows, an idiot and his grandmother, an owl, a snake, a pilot, a plane crash, the underworld, and some big questions. I adored this.

It's like a dreamy comics version of The Road. He's on a journey to nowhere in particular, surrounded by nothing, and his company is a stuffed teddy bear who is encouraging him to go on even when he thinks--knows--it's pointless. A bleak but excellent story.

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Netgalley. Content warning for violence.)

In the near future,* Prometheus awakens after a long sleep. At this point, the god has been imprisoned on a mountainside for several millennia; his only company, the eagle who stops by on the daily to dine on his liver. Lucky for him, the liver of a god is not without its gifts: over the years, his tormentor and her progeny acquired the use of language, and now the two are friends. Eagle show more brings him news of his children, the humans, and bird and god wax philosophical on love, life, freedom, and the future. Despite his dire circumstances, Prometheus is certain that he'll one day walk the Earth again.

Meanwhile, a cult known as Z traffics in children and just generally causes chaos and mayhem through Central Asia (I had it pegged as the Middle East, but I guess there is some overlap), all in service to Omega - believed to be the second coming of Jupiter. Young Astrid is swept up in their plans when she's kidnapped from a shopping mall. Or maybe her fate is sealed earlier: when her adoptive father finds an orphaned baby floating down the Nile River, strapped to a car seat; when she is visited by visions of Athena(/)Seshat; or when the gods begin to suspect that she is the only one who can stop Jupiter's resurrection. Either way, her path is about to collide with those of Nico and I.O., two mercenaries on a side quest; their monkey, Mike; Teddy Roosevelt, a depressed young man wandering the desert with a teddy bear strapped to his back; and Hermaea, in chicken form.

I wasn't sure what to expect of TONGUES, VOLUME 1, but it certainly wasn't this. Nilsen has created a story that's epic in scope, but beautiful and heart wrenching down to the smallest details. I especially loved the relationship between Prometheus and Eagle - though they were doomed to be enemies, over the years and centuries and millennia their friendship blossomed and grew into something spectacularly lovely. A camaraderie that defies both nature and the gods. After Prometheus's seeming demise at the hands (err, mouth) of Might, when Eagle has to relearn human language, and the cognition that it engenders? I got chills.

The denouement of the story involves a plot by Epimetheus to eradicate the humans - a plague on the Earth, and oppressors to the nonhuman animals that Epimetheus so loves - and honestly, the vegan in me was kind of rooting for Epimetheus. The debate between Prometheus and Epimetheus resulted in some of the most thoughtful and engaging comic book panels I've ever read, even if I'm predisposed to land in Epimetheus's camp (and recent events in American have only cemented my position ... although surely Prometheus would point out the hopeful optimism of the resistance as a reason to wait and see how things play out).

TONGUES is a retelling of the story of Prometheus, set in modern day, with some trippy science fiction elements. I also detected undertones of THE LAST OF US, thanks to the face-growing fungi; and SEVEN, aka, "What's in the box!?!"

If, like me, your grasp of Greek mythology is tenuous and relies mostly on SUPERNATURAL, no worries: TONGUES is amazing, worth all the time you'll spend googling minor characters, and will definitely leave you desperate to learn more. Pro tip: there's a handy run down of the main characters at the back of the book, so flip to the last pages before starting. It will save you a ton of time and mis-identifications (I clocked Omega as Zeus; Violence as Hera; and Might as ... I don't even know what. A futuristic android? I'm still not entirely sure what they are, tbh).

As for the art, it's breathtakingly intricate and enchanting. The products of Prometheus's green thumb; the Hecatoncheires Gyges; and our maybe-savior Astrid all stand out as especially captivating. And, again: Prometheus's daily congress with Eagle - stunning in both form and content.

Honestly, I cannot recommend TONGUES enough. I just hope we don't have to wait another ten years to find out if Astrid is indeed the Chosen One. show less

I'm obsessed with this guy's drawing and strange dreamy story-telling. This is my favorite of all his books. Like a fairy tale without a plot, Dogs and Water follows a boy with a teddy bear strapped to his back as he walks through a desert and also is sometimes marooned at sea. The elegant art takes you into someone else’s dreamworld. You can’t explain it; you can only experience it.