Blog Archives
Lanier, Chris – Combustion
Wordless stories are a tricky business. If they aren’t done right, and this happens more than I’d like to admit, they’re a complete waste of time. Granted, it’s usually only a few minutes of time, but it stinks when that’s the best thing that you can say about a book. There are times, however. when it’s done to perfection, and you have to stop and wonder why people use words at all. Chris Lanier’s book falls into the latter category. This is a story about a soldier who sees too much and his reactions to the horrors of war. Incredibly moving and quick, this is something that everybody who has a political and social conscience should own. I’ve rarely seen eyes that haunted anywhere. The art is dark and dirty, but in a way that perfectly suits the story. Hey, Peter Kuper likes it too, as evidenced by the back of the book, so how can you go wrong?
