mood music: Crazy – gnarls barkley
The last graphic novel I read was Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore, a dark and gritty telling of the Joker’s origins as a failed comedian turned violent criminal. This seems to be a pattern with the graphic novels that I gravitate towards, including Watchmen and Maus, and this novel is no different. Written and illustrated by E.M. Carroll (formerly Emily Carroll), the story tells the tale of Abby, a recently married discount store clerk, and follows her day-to-day with her new husband, recently widowed dentist Dave, and her stepdaughter, Crystal.
Abby has some demons that she is fighting when we meet her. She repeatedly daydreams of inflicting violent self-harm, but she snaps out of it and returns to her mundane life, working at the local discount chain and being the best new wife and stepmother she can be. Abby doesn’t know much about Dave’s previous wife, Sheila, only that she passed away from cancer and, according to Crystal, Dave and Sheila had frequent arguments during their marriage. It isn’t until a get-together with some of the other dentists from Dave’s practice that Abby is told that Sheila didn’t die from cancer, but took her own life. The details are never discussed, but based on the hints dropped here and there, her death may have been intentional drowning.
Dave is overtly protective of Crystal, never allowing her to enter the lake just outside of their home, nor does he allow Abby to try to connect with Crystal as a way to understand the child’s grief about losing her mother. She begins to suspect that something nefarious may have happened to Sheila, rather than the cancer or suicide stories she has been told, and so begins a series of surprise visits which drive Abby’s already fragile psyche to the brink. She begins to question her marriage all together, and if she was targetted by David due to her pleasant nature and naiveté.
I enjoyed this book, as I said before, it’s dark and gritty but Carroll’s illustrations are beautiful pieces of art that highlight how complicated trauma, mental illness, and domestic life can be.
TW: self harm, mentions of domestic violence, graphic violence
