Graphic Novel Review: Vague Tales

Posted on December 18, 2018 at 11:29 am by Gene Ambaum

Vague Tales by Eric Haven. Fantagraphics, 2017. 9781683960324. http://amzn.to/2Ck2GDd

This nearly wordless graphic novel starts with a man in a red polo shirt. There’s also a crystalline man, a hooded soul-eating monster, a masked barbarian, a sorceress in a green mask, and a fair amount of violence. The inking of this work is extraordinary, and the plot owes as much to old pulp tales as it does to sheer randomness — Haven’s book feels like the offspring of Johnny Ryan’s Prison Pitt and Fletcher Hanks’ I Shall Destroy All Civilized Planets. It’s a good bit of fun, and, depending on what page they see when they look over your shoulder, it’s guaranteed to alarm your friends or legal guardians. Buy it for your nephew who thinks he’s never read anything fun.