Harrisburg Patriot News reviews Dogs & Water
Updated December 16, 2004
Arts/Leisure
GRAPHIC LIT
Christopher Mautner
Of the Patriot-News
271 words
12 December 2004
Patriot-News
FINAL
J04
English
Copyright (c) 2004 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
"Dogs and Water" by Anders Nilsen, Drawn & Quarterly, 88 pages, $9.95.
With both feet planted firmly in Samuel Beckett territory, Nilsen's stark, unsettling story centers on a nameless, lost traveler wandering through a bleak, war-torn landscape. His only companions are a teddy bear and a roving pack of wild dogs. Eventually he does come across some human beings, only to find himself caught in a crossfire of sorts and faced with an extremely uncomfortable moral decision.
Nilsen's sparse, thinly rendered line work adds to the level of existential discomfort that the artist seems to excel at. Yes, it's a haunting book, but "Dogs and Water" stays with you a lot longer than most recent comics, easily marking it as one of the best of the year.
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