MYSTERIES

Nice book, I have been expecting this one for a long time. The page layout could be better, there's little text in the book, do it could be arranged better. The paper quality is high but unfortunately it is glossy which is not so ideal for a book with lots of images.

Il grande Bill Watterson, dopo molti anni, torna a pubblicare un nuovo volume inedito. Watterson, nato a Washington D.C. nel 1958, pubblica nel 1985 la sua prima vignetta dedicata a “Calvin and Hobbes” che in breve tempo diventa una delle strisce satiriche più famose degli Stati Uniti, pubblicate sui più grandi quotidiani del Paese. Nonostante il clamoroso e duraturo successo, il 31 dicembre del 1995 Watterson decide di smettere di pubblicarle, per dedicarsi ad altro, soprattutto alla pittura. Nel corso degli anni le sue vignette vengono ripubblicate in varie raccolte che riscuotono sempre un grande successo, non solo negli Stati Uniti. Ma dopo diversi decenni Watterson pubblica una nuova storia inedita, realizzata nelle immagini assieme al caricaturista e illustratore statunitense John Kascht. Ci troviamo così in un lontano e cupo regno che è afflitto da un grande e oscuro male: i misteriosi, esseri che qualcuno crede sovrannaturali, dalla forza inaudita e capaci di ogni terribile e infame azione. Nel corso del tempo non sono stati pochi gli artisti che hanno ritratto le gesta terrificanti dei misteriosi, cosa che non ha fatto altro che aumentare il terrore in tutta la nazione. Il Re così raduna i suoi migliori cavalieri per catturare i misteriosi e scoprirne i loro segreti per sconfiggerli. Ma, inesorabilmente, di tutti i cavalieri si perdono le tracce, fino a quando uno, ferito ed esausto, torna al castello con una gabbia che racchiude un misterioso… Deliziosa e godibilissima favola per adulti densa della grande ironia tipica di Watterson che, unita alle immagini grottesche e surreali realizzate dallo stesso autore insieme a Kascht, ci regalano un piccolo viaggio memorabile e divertente.

...something completely different. Is it what I expected it to be, when I preordered it at the first announcement? No, absolutely not. Is it short? Text- and pagewise: Yes. But the impressions this book might leave in your mind are deep and last long. Going through it is like having a strange dream. I don't know, how often I read this book now, but it still gives me the same feelings I had at the first time. For me, it's an absolutely awesome piece of art. A big "Thank you!" from the bottom of my heart to Bill Watterson and John Kascht!

Like many, I preordered this book unsure what to expect, but hoping to be delighted. When it arrived, it took less than a minute to read and two-thirds of the way through I began laughing when I realized where it was going. I continued laughing as I recommended it to friends as a simple, bleak, and funny bedtime story for adults. In the days since, I've continued to think about the story and how it is told. I'm struck by the fact that this little book is really all that we know, and will likely ever know, of the human story. Millions of years from now, if one were to summarize our experience on Earth, it would be distilled this way as many obituaries cut to the essence. As I continue to think about the book, I'm amazed by how much it hits on. Why we tell stories. What we are looking for. What we've become detached from over time. How much we think we know. How much we don't. And never will or could. And in all of that, the unknown, unspoken, unseen is a thing to crack instead of a wonder to accept. An answer to conquer instead of a sense of meaning to be faced with humility. That all may seem like a reach. I certainly don't know. However, Watterson has proved himself a master of distilling philosophical musings to a few frames in a comic strip. I think this seemingly simple book, and it's menacing fairy-tale artwork, will provide much to ponder as I revisit over the years.

First off, this is a short read. A very short read. If you are picking this up expecting a novel, or something to chew through over a few hours, you will be disappointed. What this is, is a short story that you can read through quite quickly, that can leave you thinking for quite a while. The story itself came off as very cynical towards humanity, and hit much the same as some of the better Calvin and Hobbes Sunday strips. The art is excellent, and very detailed, and worth picking the book up for just to look at. In short: short read, great art, cynical take on humanity, I loved it.