Enigma

This was a re-read, as I am now sure that I read 'Enigma' as a teenager, during my phase of reading every single graphic novel the library either had or could order. (This was before I had internet access, and therefore read during most of my waking hours.) I forgot it for years, but was reminded by Grant Morrison's wonderful book 'Supergods'. In this, he discusses 'Enigma' in detail, which piqued my interest. This graphic novel is now quite hard to get hold of, but I finally found a copy on eBay and read it last night at 3am.

'Enigma' is the tale of Michael Smith, a young guy with a very regimented, predictable life and a sad family background. His father died in an earthquake and his mother subsequently abandoned him while he was still show more a child. Michael's life is upended when weird supervillains like The Truth, The Head, and The Envelope Girl start terrorising the population, apparently having emerged from the pages of a short-lived comic series called 'The Enigma'. Then it all gets very postmodern. I'll say no more as I don't want to spoil it for you! Suffice it to say, I like how open to interpretation the final twist and ending are.

I remember enjoying this graphic novel the first time round, and definitely loved re-reading it. It's wonderfully weird and meta, but also genuinely sweet and moving. The fourth-wall-denying narration is a highlight, especially once you realise who is actually narrating. I like the art without adoring it, but truly love the evocative and beautiful colouring.

Grant Morrison says in his book that 'Enigma' was ground-breaking when first published in 1995, and I trust his word on this. It takes an angle on the superhero mythos that I haven't found anywhere else. I wish I'd written down my reaction to it as a teenager, as I think that's a very good point in life to read it. 'Enigma' is about identity (including sexual identity), about trying to understand who you are and what you want from life. As a teenager (and later, just less so!), this is all a huge ocean of mystery and confusion. It has much more interesting things to say than most graphic novels about superheroes that I've read. show less

Perhaps best known as the scribe of the surreal allegorical series Shade, the Changing Man, Peter Milligan's masterpiece remains Enigma. Mired in a tedious life of routine, Michael Smith inexplicably encounters his favorite childhood comic book hero, the formerly 2-D, four-color Enigma, now very much alive and in full color. Teaming with the hero's comic creator, Smith obsessively attempts to uncover the secret behind Enigma's improbable existence. After encountering an insanity-inducing psychopath, a brain-eating serial killer, and a suicide-inciting clown posse, Smith's discovers startling truths about himself and his hero. Expertly rendered by Fegredo, the postmodern Enigma stands as one of the pinnacles of the medium.

So. Many. Lizards. Crawling around in my head. Nibbling timidly and then sinking their teeth into juicy grey matter as they gain more courage. These are venomous lizards, you see, and their venom is infused with some seriously trippy dope. Narcotic, stimulant and hallucinogen all in one. Enigma is the grooviest drug to hit the street since forever and my brain cells are now Enigma-dependent and and crave Enigma desperately. I am doomed to wander about aimlessly for the rest of eternity in a dazed stupor, drooling all over everything and moaning "Enigmaaa" in hopeless longing.

As I often say, I wish I liked this book more. My biggest problem with it is the art by Duncan Fegredo, which just didn't work for me. I found it to be somewhat ugly and not able to tell the story very well (there are panels where I have no idea what's going on) and the art isn't helped by the Vertigo mid-90s color palette of runny earth tones.

I will say that the story grew on me as I continued reading it. The further into the series I got, the more interested I became in the characters and what was happening to them. However, I don't think the ending lands with the weight it needs to for the book to really succeed.

Not a big fan of the artwork, overall, but still readable. Extremely chaotic story initially, but final third brilliant and puts the first two-thirds in context. The Enigma has amazing hair... and there is some yumminess toward the end.

I really do love this comic. It's an interesting take on the idea of the superhero. It also includes musings on the nature of reality and sexual orientation. Another reviewer claims that it's abit pretentious, and I have to agree but really, most Vertigo comics are.

The artwork is a little out there and takes some getting used to since it is very scratchy and full of pen lines but I think it really adds to the chaotic, gritty atmosphere of the story.

My only problem with this comic is that it ends on a very cliffhanger-y note.

All in all, if you like comic books/graphic novels with mature themes and different takes on the superhero issue, check it out.

Michael Smith's life is nothing out of the ordinary. On tuesdays he wears his blue socks and grey underwear, he counts his bath towels and has sex with his girlfriend Sandra. One tuesday however, his life changes forever when supervillian "The Head" appears and starts sucking peoples brains out of their nose. To further astonishment, his childhood comic book superhero Enigma appears to track down The Head and stop the killings. Things don't stop after The Head as supervillian The Truth appears to cause even more chaos and provide an even bigger challenge to Enigma.

An extremely surreal adventure where Michael tries to figure out his connection with Enigma. He ends up enlisting the help of the comic book writer who originally created show more Enigma, Titus Bird. Enigma only ran for 3 issues and Enigma soon starts to follow new paths seperate from the original comic and new supervillians appear. Titus also has to fend off the "Enigmatics" who treat him like a prophet and belive his comics to be complete truth with hidden messages.

It was a very sexual graphic novel without being explicit (I am guessing the author is gay?). I did enjoy it, but ultimately found it a little too pretentious playing up to comic book cliches. It was also a little overly confusing although I did like the twists it took for the most part. I am usually very good at guessing who and what is going on, but this time I was dead wrong which made for a nice change. show less