Black Hole

I started reading Charles Burns's graphic novel Black Hole during the tale end of my stomach bug. Boy was that risky.

On its most basic level, this is a story about a group of teens in Seattle during the 70s who have/don't have/are about to have a sexually transmitted disease called simply "the bug." Though apparently not deadly, the bug causes hideous mutations in some of its victims (like the guy with huge boils all over his face), affectively forcing them into seclusion. Some people with the disease are able to hide the mutations and still blend in (like the dude with a mouth in his chest).

The book isn't about what causes the disease, or what could cure it. It really just follows a few kids--some cool, some not-so-cool--and how they deal with every day high school life in the context of the bug. A nerd falls for a cool girl and tries too hard to impress her. The nice girl falls for the bad boy, who maybe isn't so bad.

I've read a few reviews that say the bug is supposed to represent AIDS, but I think that's a stretch. There may be some parallels, but I think the book is more about the trials and tribulations (and overall suckitude) of high school, amplified an order of magnitude by this disease. It's like "Freaks and Geeks", but with horrible disfiguring illness!

One review I read described the book as "Cronenberg-esque", and that's the best way to describe the images here. I actually thought of Cronenberg before I read that description. Some of the scenes in this book make the worst parts of The Fly look almost appetizing. The black-and-white illustrations are more than enough to convey the disturbing themes Burns is going for. Indeed, if the graphics had been in color, it would probably have been too gross, distracting the reader from the story itself.

I guess Cronenberg has traded in his seeping pustules and gristle guns for more dramatic fare these days, and the rumor is that David Fincher is adapting this book to film. Great director, but I'm not sure how well this will translate to screen. I'm afraid a movie would only be viewed as gross-out horror, but there are some characters here that are actually worth knowing. It'll be a neat trick if they pull it off.

In any case, I certainly would not whole-heartedly recommend this one to everybody, but I enjoyed it and I reckon those of you with strong stomachs would like it, too. I've decided to abandon my Newspeak rating system because it was pretty boring, so I'm working on wrapping up reviews with a simple simile that conveys what I thought about what I watched/read/listened to. Attempt #1: Reading Black Hole was like forcing yourself to eat a meal worm sandwich, and discovering that it tasted way better than you expected.