Graphic Novel Review: The Dancing Plague by Gareth Brookes

Posted on February 7, 2023 at 6:28 am by Gene Ambaum

The Dancing Plague by Gareth Brookes. SelfMadeHero, 2021. 9781910593981.

This medieval tale concerns an incident in 1518 in Strasbourg when there was an outbreak of uncontrollable dancing in the city. This is a minor spoiler but the narrator of the tale, Mary, can see the invisible demons causing these poor souls to dance. The Dancing Plague is her tale — she was once her father’s favorites though he later tried to silence her because of her religious visions. She escaped him to become a bride of Christ only to have to escape again to become a bride. Her tale is strange and her visions, as she worries for her own daughter, infected with the dancing plague, drive the book’s narrative.

I picked up this graphic novel because I haven’t read a comic created using embroidery since one of the Flight anthologies. Brookes used pyrography to create the rest of the drawings, making medieval life look drab, as opposed to the colorful demons Mary sees, which were embroidered. Such a beautiful book, and the story really pulled me through, too, which I hadn’t expectd.

You can see more of Brookes’ work at https://www.gbrookes.com. I highly recommend checking out the Original Art Shop and Gallery to see examples of images from The Dancing Plague and other books.