February 19, 2018
Welsh cartoonist Reynolds has been issuing “Mauretania Comics” since 1985; this well-designed volume, edited by cartoonist Seth, provides a definitive collection of Reynolds’s enigmatic work. Set on a future earth where humanity has lost a war with mostly benevolent aliens, these comics string together slice-of-life narratives with the abstract tales that arise from a universe where cause and effect no longer meaningfully apply. The protagonist is the helmeted Monitor, who looks like a mod sci-fi movie hero and travels through a mundane landscape where daily life seems oddly unchanged despite the conquest of humanity. “The Dial” explains how the aliens’ religion paved the way toward their quite polite control of humans. Short detective yarns and poetic fragments lead loosely through to the introduction of Jimmy, who joins Monitor in resisting the new order and—perhaps—saving the world. The sheer denseness of Reynolds’s line, which is amply cross-hatched and looks to be drawn with fat Sharpies, pervades the comics with an encroaching sense of dread. In his foreword, Ed Park frames the “aesthetic ecstasy” of these loosely plotted comics, where more questions are raised than answered. The distinctive visual style and familiar themes of paranoia and existential unease will resonate with modern audiences and provide a collectible for those familiar with the series.
March 15, 2018
Since the mid-1980s, British cartoonist Reynolds has self-published his tales of Mauretania, set some years after Earth has been taken over by intergalactic invaders. The aliens are blandly passive overlords, mostly interested in the planet's mining opportunities. The human inhabitants are vaguely disoriented and seem to have difficulties dealing with matters of space and time. The sparse details revealed about the events that befell society add to the sense of dislocation and mystery. The stories are light on incident, portraying brief passages in the lives of anonymous individuals as well as longer pieces featuring a few recurring characters, particularly the Monitor, a helmeted figure who possesses slightly more agency than other humans. The artwork is quietly restrained, using thick, woodcut-like lines and focusing as much on buildings and landscapes as the characters, who are often portrayed indistinctly, from behind or in silhouette. Over the years, Reynolds' stories have amassed an enthusiastic cult following (including the alt-cartoonist Seth, who designed this volume); this handsome compilation is bound to expand his audience immensely.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)