Thomas Ott

Never heard of this author and was given this book as a present. Needless to say, I loved it! The graphic novel is like a silent horror movie. The themes and art are like a mixture of Kafka, Junji Ito and The Twilight Zone or Tales from the Crypt. The art really fits the stories astonishingly well and nails the entire eerie vibe. It's a very quick read and has a few small details that, if you have a sharp enough eye, can catch to make the entire book even more enjoyable as the ending comes. show more Additionally, my review will contain spoilers for the end, so if you read the book and feel like you missed something- then come back and read (or Re-read) my review.

There's 5 short stories in this book- no dialogue, just pictures and your ability to thread the context and plot along. Each story is like a delicious little dark appetizer or snack that will make you want to pick up more of the author's work. You can finish this book in under 20 minutes, and that's including the time you may take to admire the artwork. Here's a summary of each story:

The stories are introduced by the platform of a girl arriving to a carnival, but finding all the other attractions too expensive. After a bit of poking around, she ends up finding a tent with a few machines that play movies. Lucky enough, She has *just* enough for each one!

The Hotel:
This was one of my favorites. A man enters a hotel, only to find it empty, or what he figures is empty. There's a reason why...

The Champion:
A Luchador wrestler is facing his untimely, ultimate opponent. However, living through this match comes with a heavy price.

The Experiment:
A man is struggling with his blindness but a doctor has a solution. This story asks: What would you do to regain your sight?

The Prophet:
This one seemed the most 'Twilight Zone' out of all of them to me. A homeless man figures out the End of the World is coming- sadly no one believes him. Sometimes it's better to look out for yourself.

SPOILERS:
The Girl: This is technically the 'main plot' of the book, as her story consists of her watching all the other 5 stories happen (literally). Once you figure out what the girl 'saw', this is what makes the book even more entertaining.
It could be taken as an open ending, but really She figures out YOU (as the reader) are watching her! This makes more sense given if you flip back on the book, you can actually see each character in the short stories make a discreet cameo in the background before she enters the theater tent. With that knowledge, the reader is being treated as some sort of 'all seeing god' and the girl gets freaked out by the presence of some 'all seeing, all knowing eye'. (After all, Panopticum is a cognate for the word 'panopticon', which is a small enclosure where someone is kept under constant watch...and she is inside of a tent watching these stories unfold afterall). You watched her from the beginning, after you read the title "The Girl" and now that she saw you in the ending, she flees.

Really cool twist ending right up my alley if I say so myself!
Please give it a chance! show less

I'm getting to like the works of Thomas Ott. I came across them at the library, and the stark artwork and sturdy binding of his books impressed me. Those that I've read--or viewed, as the books emphasize the "graphic" in the graphic novel--tell strange, supernatural stories with a just a dash of horror. You can read these in mere minutes if that's your thing, but the stories are well-paced and the art is worth lingering over. In this particular tale, a man finds a scrap of paper bearing a show more sequence of numbers, and soon those numbers appear to be directing--or maybe just reflecting--the course of his life. Odd, macabre fun. show less

I picked this up on a whim in the library, because the lack of "real" title (just a string of numbers) caught my attention. Then I noticed it had no text at all, and was even more curious, so I stood there and read it in the comics rack of the library.

The art was really great, and the pure black & white drawings give it a sense of darkness, even when things are going well. I enjoyed the story being portrayed. But I give 4 stars rather than 5 because I could tell from very early on how a few show more things were going to go. Even with knowing that, though, there was enough creative original content telling the story that I was still plenty curious about how exactly things would happen. I'm definitely interested in seeing more of Ott's work after reading this. show less

This comic is like a delicious appetizer. A few short bites and it leaves you hungry for the main course. It consists of a few short horror stories told through pictures only and they are excellent. Each one is more spooky than the last.

This took less than a half an hour to read, but it was really good.