The Deep Dark

Magdalena (Mags) Herrera is tied down in ways most 18-year-olds aren't: when she was born, there was a monster wrapped around her, and it lives in a cage in the basement and feeds daily on her blood. But when Mags' childhood friend Nessa - the only person outside her family she ever showed the creature to - returns to town, Mags begins to wonder if there is more possibility to her life than she thought.

Most of the present-day story is in black and white with some spot color (e.g. red for blood and playing cards, blue for text messages). Flashbacks are in full color, as are the final pages. There is a unique section (364-375) between Nessa and her stalker ex-boyfriend that appears in four-color, almost like a hologram or Magic Eye.

The show more story is set in the southwest U.S. desert. Mags is a butch lesbian who speaks some Spanish with her Catholic abuela; Nessa is trans, an artist who uses a pinhole camera (some of these images are included in the book). Mags and Nessa rescue each other, and Mags rethinks her view of the basement monster - as a part of her that doesn't always need to be kept hidden.

Quotes

"I get sort of numb when stuff like this happens."
"It's okay not to be okay, you know?" (Mags and Nessa, 291)

Mom says I'm so mature. And that's code for not her problem anymore. And stop making her feel guilty for starting a new life. (Mags, 297)

"I made a choice to thrive." (Nessa, 305) show less

This is a YA graphic novel about a high-school age Hispanic lesbian in rural California who reconnects with a childhood friend who moved away years ago. Only she doesn't want to reconnect, because she doesn't want that friend to discover her secret—a dark one in the basement that her family has hid for generations. This is one of those fantasy stories that does a good job working on two levels, there's a literal monster, but of course it's also a metaphor. Ostertag's characters are well-drawn, and she especially does a great job with the main character's yearning for connection but also pushing of other people away. This is the kind of thing I really like about reading all the Hugo finalists; I never would have come across this I'm show more sure, but ended up really enjoying the experience a lot. show less

Gloriously told story of self discovery. I love Molly Knox Ostertag's broadly drawn expressive characters. In Understand Comics, Scott McCloud offers a pyramid describing characters from the everyman of a smiley face to the photorealistic, with inhuman / abstract on the vertical axis. For me, Ostertag's Mags and Nessa sit at the sweet spot of that range, instantly recognizable as themselves on the page but broadly drawn enough to reflect a range of readers back at us.

What makes Deepest Dark a five star experience is Ostertag's careful and celebratory use of color. Like the Wizard of Oz, the most important moments take on color that highlights their emotional impact. In the early goings, we get only glimpses but as the narrative takes show more shape, the underlying pattern emerges. Fantastic art. show less

This ended up being a different story than I was anticipating, but I really liked it. I love the personification of mental illness in the monster. I adore Ostertag's art style and character designs. I love the message of not needing to deal with things alone, but also not expecting others to fix you. It's a really good book.

A very beautiful story about a girl with a secret: a monster, born alongside of her, whose fate is inevitably intertwined with her own. Mags's torn feelings about her secret, one that demands her own blood, are palpable; she's so alone, and yet part of that is by her own choice, as she fears that letting anyone close will lead to disaster and potential tragedy. Opening her heart to her childhood friend? She wants it--needs it--but it takes going against everything she's been taught and believes.

There's a lot of deeper meaning here for the interpreting: embracing everything about oneself, including the darker parts (the "bitterness with the sweet," as Mags's abuela says). Many levels to appreciate and to love. On top of that the art is show more wonderful and powerful, particularly the way Ostertag illustrates the complicated mental state Nessa experiences in the presence of her unstable ex-boyfriend. Incredible. show less

Lovely and strange and full of the hard fights. It's hard to grow up with secrets, to embrace the dark sides of yourself, to let yourself have love, to be other than your family desires. It's glorious when friends love us (and our demons) anyway. Gorgeous art -- the southern California desert setting is beautiful, Mags and Nessa are beautiful, the inner demon is glorious.

All the books from this author are like a box of chocolates - absolutely gorgeous, very self indulgent and gone much too quick!

I love this so much if I don't overthink it, but if I do, it wobbles a little: if the monster really has killed someone's child, just dumping a large pile of money on the family and walking away without ever explaining them is not good justice! If the monster is an analogy for anger issues, or deep depression, or mental illness, or anything dangerous really, is Nessa's freeing 'it's OK, I know your monster won't hurt me, you would never hurt me' actually good or true advice? But I like it anyway.