Black Hole - Charles Burns

A strange plague has descended upon Seattles teenagers, transmitted by sexual contact. The disease is manifested in any number of ways--from the hideously grotesque to the subtle. Black Hole explores a specific American cultural moment in flux and the kids who are caught in it. nWinner of the Eisner, Harvey, and Ignatz Awards nThe setting: suburban Seattle, the mid-1970s. We learn from the outset that a strange plague has descended upon the area's teenagers, transmitted by sexual contact. The disease is manifested in any number of ways -- from the hideously grotesque to the subtle (and concealable) -- but once you've got it, that's it. There's no turning back. n nAs we inhabit the heads of several key characters -- some kids who have it, some who don't, some who are about to get it -- what unfolds isn't the expected battle to fight the plague, or bring heightened awareness to it, or even to treat it. What we become witness to instead is a fascinating and eerie portrait of the nature of high school alienation itself -- the savagery, the cruelty, the relentless anxiety and ennui, the longing for escape. n nAnd then the murders start. n nAs hypnotically beautiful as it is horrifying, Black Hole transcends its genre by deftly exploring a specific American cultural moment in flux and the kids who are caught in it- back when it wasn't exactly cool to be a hippie anymore, but Bowie was still just a little too weird. n nTo say nothing of sprouting horns and molting your skin...n