The List

The following review is the likes of which I have not before encountered. The author of the piece, one Michelle Kasparian (a long time fan of the series), is a literature student (my old emails have been lost so I can’t be specific as to which year/uni she attends) and has written the piece as if it were to be submitted to one of her lecturers. It’s an incredible read, one that is imbued with a thoroughness that only the very best of critics could achieve. Admittedly, I had to read it a few times to fully grasp its depth – along with getting my head around the literary terms. As you’ll see in the preface, Michelle has a bit of a laugh at her use of such terms. Enjoy…

Warning: this review employs wanky narratological terms for cohesion and brevity; there is a definitions list at the end of the review.

The List (Bedford, Pop, Bonin) has been completed; all five commandments are fulfilled. It asks three main questions: Is the Son insane? Who is the Angel? Then the third, perhaps the most important:

Where are we left now? We certainly remember where we began, a father and a son in a car, but what we are left with is the Angel and our very own List.

I have eagerly devoured The List (or I should say allowed it to devour me) since 2007 and now at its finish I try to pin-point exactly what The List has given me—and I am dumbfounded because it has not given me a moral lesson, but an amalgamation of our psyche, our beliefs and our world: the entity of the List itself.

The List does not offer enlightenment or transcendence, but Baudelairian immanence; the Son constantly seeking enlightenment, working his (and our) way up the List, only to die, keeping us all within our earthly bodies and boundaries.

The beauty is that we are allowed to do it over and over again, almost reaching the epitome of the sublime and then plummeting back down. We are assured this pleasure, intrigue and knowledge without ever reaching the ultimate knowledge, —and to paraphrase Nietzsche – to become the Super-Man, our own human god: looking straight into the abyss and having that nothingness stare straight back at more intensely.

The List allows its audience to take multiple layers of meaning away from it, employing very subtle, yet effective, hypo-diagesis[1] as the List is then physically passed onto Luke and ourselves. The success of this graphic novel hinges on audience interpretation and the continuation of our own List: the audience’s participation and engagement becomes essential to its telling.

The story works as a palimpsest[2] narrative. The key to truly working out the full intention of The List is to discern where the different narratives merge and elaborate on the others – something I’m sure only the creators know – this allows more realisations and layers of meaning to be deducted with each read.

On this note I’d like to make an aside to have a think about the use of homo-diagetic-analepsis[3]; these well-synthesised insights into the Son’s past are teasingly placed throughout all three volumes of The List and infers to the possible motivations influencing the protagonist without spoon-feeding the reader or giving away the plot. A commendable achievement as these flashbacks advance the story rather than bog it down.

The List works as an organic narrative[4], this indicates the level of thought, planning, preparation, revision and passion all three creators have invested into the graphic novel. This is why The List is real; it reaches a diverse audience encompassing many different genres and disciplines (horror, thriller, transgressive, psychology etc), while still satisfying each individual sub-genre successfully.

The List defies recommendation, it is simply a graphic novel that any intellectual graphic novel reader needs to have in their collection. If anyone has not yet read The List I would tell you must read it, it is the epitome of intelligent and masterful story-telling.

You will be left wanting and that is the purpose of The List.

The Commandants are completed.

 

Michelle Kasparian

2011   

 

The slog of producing The List is all but past (there will be some changes for the single volume), so it’s great to get some reward. Along with positive reviews from critics, recognition from readers who truly ‘get’ The List are the best rewards a writer can hope for (until sales enable the purchase of matching gold helicopter and gold teeth).

That these three readers have taken time out to write to me with their thoughts on my work is something I can never quite express my gratitude for.

Note: the following have been edited to remove spoilers. Where this occurs I have placed a “<snip>”.

1. Feedback from Dale Leech (Canberra)

Hi Paul

I wanted to take some time to let you know how grateful I am for all of the work that has gone into The List. I have been following since 2007 and I have to tell you it has been worth the patience and wait for the conclusion. Hats off to the city comic book store in Canberra for not only having The List available on the shelf, but for having The List up on show so that a non comic freak like me could discover an absolutely brilliant work of art.

The List hits me on every level. The story in itself is enough to satisfy my dark side then add the artwork, in only 2 colours, and you have made a master piece. I am so proud to have first editions including the signed copies of the second & third editions and keep them as the precious works of art that they are.

Where to begin…

I guess I can only go from my personal experience. At the end of the first read of commandments I & II I thought it was a very cool idea and with some really excellent artwork but I didn’t think it was anything super, super special but I loved it right off. Later that same day, I started having some amazing thoughts and little by little I began to realise that I couldn’t think about anything else other than The List. I don’t know where you have come from but to create a work like this you must be in touch with some pretty amazing energy.

The List has to be the most powerful graphic novel I have ever come across. The layout is impeccable and creates the mood and action perfectly, in only 2 colours!!! The amount of question posed after reading the final instalment is probably more than a person might have without having read The List. I did not see the ending coming. <snip> Anything that makes an ‘end-user’ think and be challenged is a great work to say the least and The List doesn’t just make you think, it gets under your skin then into your soul and before you know what has happened to you it’s too late and there’s no going back or any chance of you being the same person ever again. For The List to be an Australian product is the icing on the fucking cake man. You make me proud to be an Aussie and proud to show the world what Aussie’s can achieve. I can’t praise you and The List enough to do justice to your phenomenal work! The List reeks of street cred and I foresee The List going down in history as an underground, independent masterpiece that everyone will want a part of.

THANK YOU PAUL!!!

Cheers bro!

Dale

Ps: I’m working on some music inspired by The List. I’m talking guitar frenzy and death-like, haunting & suffocating atmosphere with some good old rock in the mix to reflect the mean and dark streets that ‘the son’ walks on.

2. Feedback from William Schaefer, Author of ‘The Wolf Letters’ (Psst: I’ve read it and it’s fucking great. No, I’m not just circle jerking because Will is a fan of my work too.)

Hey Paul

it’s official, dude … The List is a masterpiece …

It has been written, pencilled, inked and edited with extreme competence.

There’s so much to say that I think I’ll have to break my appreciation into chunks!  Here goes:

Story:

The story is the star, no question.  That’s a very bold claim given how good the artwork is, but it’s the story that gives the work its balls.  For example, the premise and those glimpses of backstory are eerie and fascinating.  The aha! plot-moments are in exactly the right places, and through them the contrast between the real world and the World <snip> becomes steadily more horrifying.  Masterful work, mate – really well-handled.  All that care you took to keep the reader guessing while not giving too much of the plot away has worked perfectly. 

<snip> I read so fast I almost got eye-burn!

<snip> (How cool’s that?  Your writing gave a guy on the other side of the country goose bumps!!  Awesome shit, bro!)  <snip>

<snip>  In short, the story is a killer and I am buying you a round of lagers.

Tone:

The tone is darker than any pysch/horror story I know – any darker and it might’ve become too violent (for my tastes) or maybe even too confusing cos the only way to darken it would be to go further “out there”.  But as it is, the tone is as mysterious, unsettling, elusive and addictive <snip>

Artwork:

What a team you have assembled.  Those guys really got your story too.  It might have been the Scaryminds reviewer who said the book wouldn’t have worked as well in colour and I agree – the B & W inked work has huge power.  It’s impressive enough on its own: for example (just one of many)<snip>

On my first read of Vol III I burned through the pages so fast trying to see what happens that I hardly noticed.  But, as with re-reads of Vols I and II, the violence receded from my mind, and the story became more prominent.  And when that happened, I started seriously appreciating the art: how talented those guys are, and how much the art serves the story in subtle and amazing ways.  (Not sure if it’s you or Henry who thinks of things like how big to make each panel, but my hat’s off to whoever does.)

Indeed, the art is ultimately a spectacular control of reader reactions.  The panels expand by just the right degree demanded by the story.   For example, sometimes the reader needs a slap in the face.  <snip> But at other times it’s so careful that you almost miss it on the second or third read <snip>. <snip> And your reader feelings/ reactions follow every time. 

Now that is a graphic novel: a blend of story and art that’s so subtle all you have to do is plug in and let it take you for a ride. 

Anyway, The List has been called “the best graphic novel ever produced in this country” and I think that’s a spot-on call.  You have set the bar at a new level, my friend, and your careful craftsmanship has found a lifelong fan in Perth. Here’s to more of your brilliant books!

All the very best to you and your team

Will Schaefer

3. Frank Candiloro. Triple threat writer, animator, illustrator and creator of the mind altering: ‘The Testament of Doctor Zeitpunkt’.

Hi Paul,

It was great to see you on the weekend and the launch went just as great! You should be proud of the fantastic trilogy that you, Henry, Tom and Fleur (and anyone else I’m forgetting) spent so much time working on.

I managed to read all of Vol.3 and all I can say is…wow. I think this is my favourite volume of the three. The tension and foreboding atmosphere of the first two volumes is amplified here in this volume, because you know that the conclusion to all this madness is coming just around the corner. We see a bit more insight into The Son’s childhood and perhaps what is the catalyst for his actions (or maybe that’s just how I’m looking at it.), which was interesting.

But for me the main highlight of not just this volume but the entire story was the finale, my god, it was so fucking intense! I couldn’t put the book down at this point, <snip> was like a bomb just waiting to go off. <snip>. I consider this a very good thing, as The List has a very visceral effect, it stays with you long after you put it down.

Henry and Tom do a superb job as always with the blacker than black art and the amazingly expressive characters, and I really like the new font you’ve used, it fits. <snip>

But anyway, as you might be able to tell from my crazed-fan ravings, I thought it was pretty damn good, a fine conclusion to your story, and a top pick for me as far as best comics of 2011 go. I know, it’s a bit early to say that but at the very least it’ll definitely be in my Top Ten picks once the year ends. And of course I still heard Tool in my head when I read it

Absolutely great stuff. Well done mate!

Cheers,

-Frank

 

Scaryminds.com has reviewed Volume III of The List. It’s reviews like this that make all the hundreds of hours of work worthwhile. Some money would be good too, though.

http://www.scaryminds.com/reviews/2011/comic042.php

Follow the developments of your favourite fucked up graphic novel on Twitter:

@thelistcomic

Scare ya there. >:^)

You’ve read the reviews, you’ve seen the art work, now you want the books.

Well, they can be sent straight to your door (at below store prices!). Simply click on:

http://www.thelistgraphicnovel.bigcartel.com/

and “…the best graphic novel ever published in Australia” (Scaryminds.com) can be yours!

The psych horror epic comes to its close. Over 100 pages long, Volume 3 gives its readers that which has eluded them all along: the “why” of The List.

To celebrate the release of this final instalment a launch is being held this Saturday (April 9) at The Loop Bar (23 Meyers Lane, Melbourne, 7.00pm). Come along and get your hands on one of only 120 copies being printed, see the spectacular A/V presentation being screened, hear speeches from the creators  – and if none of that excites you, then just drink!

Volume 3, the ultimate instalment of this dark tale, is well into production and set for an early 2011 release (invites to the launch will of course be sent out prior). To whet your appetite, here are some random pages, both inked and not. You’re in for a (relentless, fucked up) treat, I promise you.

Ok, that’s all you’re getting for now! ;^)

The List seems to infect minds from all walks. It’s nice to know that the work we have done appeals to many different types of personalities, backgrounds and interests. Be that as it may, they are simply all sick and twisted bastards to derive enjoyment from such a twisted tale! What’s that you say? I was the sicko that wrote it. Well…yeah…that’s true…but…but…Hmph!

Ok, all jokes aside, I am always blown away when those who have read our work take the time to write to me with their thoughts on it – unless those thoughts are “You sick, demented piece of shit. I’m coming around right now to do humanity a service by feeding you to my poodle”. Those sort of letters I choose to keep from the site.  So without further ado, here are some thoughts from recent readers of The List:

William Schaefer, Author of ‘The Wolf Letters’,  due May 2011.   ‘Pray that history does not repeat …’

Hi Paul

I’m Will – I met you on the Sunday afternoon of Armageddon in Melbourne (I think I told you I’d just met Jason Franks).

Am writing to tell you how much I am appreciating your MASSIVE accomplishment.  Everything from the storytelling qualities of the artwork, which ensures impressive restraint with the dialogue and text; to the fascinating, multi-layered storyline; to the overarching darkness of the storyworld; to the compelling unpredictability of the Son; to the sense of menace in those flashbacks to “happy times”; to the judiciously deployed plot-hints has me totally hooked, bro!

The artwork is, of course, punch-to-the-gut immediate.  Gigantically brilliant stuff – my hat is respectfully off to those guys and the tractor-beam magnetism of their art.  But it’s the story that’s got me re-reading – amazingly intricate given how forceful the art and “first read” story elements are. It’s like the brain of both Cohen Brothers, trapped inside the angry body of cage-fighting animal Glenn Shamrock!

Anyway, I’ve read the first two issues three times (and lent them to others as well) within two weeks and I have grown bold enough now to advance a theory on what has happened – even though there are some parts that still elude me (you bastard – and I can’t even buy the next issue yet).  It may be completely wrong.  No laughing if so!

Anyhoo, that’s me done.  I’m sure you can tell by now how much I’ve dug your awesome books, dude.  Congrats to you all for putting them together so well and best of luck with the upcoming issues.

Cheers

Will Schaefer

PS I’m in Perth and according to your site there’s nowhere I can buy Issue 3 from over here.  Would you mind putting me on a mailing list or something so I know when and where to pick up No.3?

PSS please be quick with the new ones!  I need to know how your fucking story ends pronto, or I’ll end up crazier than the Son !!!!

Frank Candiloro, Creator of the White Wolf webcomic (www.whitewolfcomic.com)

Read vol 2, loved it! ‘The Son’ is one scary son of a bitch!

Stuart Doupe, workmate and a man who doesn’t mince his words (which is refreshing in this pc world).

I’m still working on it, i love it but it hasn’t come to me yet, the day it does you will soon know how a twisted plot can be so . . . . . . . enticing.

It’s a tail of confusion; a sadistic journey that leaves you feeling: “whats next, why and how did this start? Did he find his dad in the car, did he put his dad there.  Is the list a voice from within or is it just his way of venting what he cant on a civil level?”. I keep thinking that by the end that what i dont know now will all make sense, but still with the doubt it was never meant to make sense, but just open our eyes to what could be if we closed out all our “that’s the way life is ” reasoning.  It’s a tale of who we all want to be the good guy the honorable man, out to provide karma with the twist that what I will do to others will come back onto them rule does not matter as the greater good is worth evey blood soaked life, every twisted move we all make before the fear turns us into the scared little boys that we hold close to our souls, so that we can be accepted.  All in all i love the creativity that we all have, and that this one man has givin us though THE LIST.  Keep up the good work and “stay off drugs”.

Goran is another writer who has come from writing screenplays (though he is far advanced on me in that area – evident from his excellent ‘Brainteaser’ script he sent me) to now be moving into writing a novels of sequential art – which is a fancy way of saying graphic novelists, which in itself is a fancy way of saying comic writer (though, ostensibly, comic writers must fit their stories in 22 or 48 pages while graphic novelists have no boundaries in terms of length).  While it’s always nice to hear positive words from a reader (esp. one that is a writer), even better is when that reader comments on aspects of my work that have yet to be highlighted. Now, while I had to edit the below a little due to it containing spoilers, you will still see that Goran has put a lot of thought into his feedback:

Hey, Paul.

I finished reading The List.  

I enjoyed the read. The best thing about the story is how the list – the mythology surrounding the list – is shrouded in so much mystery. I.e., you’ve done a great job creating and sustaining curiosity; I’m certainly keen to know what happens in volume 3.  

It’s certainly a graphic story in terms of violence, which is great, as I’m a horror fan. (I didn’t think that the story went into gratuitous-violence territory, which is great, as I hate gratuitous violence.) I liked the idea that The Son tattooed the commandments onto his body. I also really liked the unpredictability in volume 2 in that scene in the park. 

You did a good job with the panel layout too. (Note: That was Fleur’s work, not mine). 

I thought the flashbacks to The Son’s childhood with his mother in the lead-up to that one-page long shot of the dead mother was great – definitely my favourite part of the novel thus far.  

I gave The List to a friend of mine to read. He’s a fan of horror stories too and he said that your novel was “pretty fucked up”, which is definitely a compliment.

 

 

 

Receiving kind words from readers must be my all time favourite part of creating a work. I don’t know if it’s the fact that someone is appreciating the work I have produced, or the reassurance that there are people out as fucked as I am – by fucked, I mean willing to take a chance and really get their teeth into a story as dark and insane as The List.  Yep, fucked. ;^) Franklin is one of those people. I can clearly recall her breaking through the crowd at Melbourne Supanova declaring “The List fucks with my head!” or something to that effect. After I admitted that those words were exactly what I wanted to hear from my readers, we proceeded to take some pics by the stall banner. They are a little too big for the blog, but I will provide the very cool feedback she gave regarding The List:

“I also have a teensy bit of feedback to add in regards to Volume I:

If Stephen King, Chuck Palahniuk and Quentin Tarantino took LSD and
created a comic… it would be The List.

It’s still the best thing to come out of Supanova. ”

Franklin, you’ll always be welcome here.