Publication
Jonathan Cape Ltd
Physical description
9.13 inches
ISBN
0224096745 / 9780224096744
Language
Collection
Series
Description
"The long, strange trip that began in X'ed Out and continued in The Hive reaches its mind-bending, heartbreaking end, but not before Doug is forced to deal with the lie he's been telling himself since the beginning. In this concluding volume, nightmarish dreams evolve into an even more dreadful reality" --
User reviews
LibraryThing member paradoxosalpha
With Sugar Skull, Charles Burns' Last Look set of graphic novels is finished, though without ending. There is some significant closure, chiefly with an explanation for Doug's head wound and his breakup with Sarah. This third volume introduces the contemporary Doug who has been reminiscing in the
Discordians familiar with the Law of Fives know that the recurring "23" in these books could mean pretty much anything, but I suppose it is intended to reference the twenty-three human chromosome pairs, and thus generational descent. In Sugar Skull, we find Doug contemplating both ancestry (his father, never his occluded mother) and posterity. Or perhaps 23 is to indicate the twenty-third pair, and thus sexual difference. Johnny remains alienated at best from any female manifestations, despite his attraction to them.
I borrowed these books from the public library: X-ed Out first, and then The Hive and Sugar Skull together. Despite the fact that they were initially published over a four- or five-year span, I think it would be best to have all three volumes on hand when reading any of them. There are recurrent images and references that made me want to review the first book, especially its opening pages, as I finished reading the last.
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earlier ones, well after the creation of his portal fantasy alter-ego, who is now identified as Johnny. Neither character is given satisfaction by the final pages, nor are they brought back together.Discordians familiar with the Law of Fives know that the recurring "23" in these books could mean pretty much anything, but I suppose it is intended to reference the twenty-three human chromosome pairs, and thus generational descent. In Sugar Skull, we find Doug contemplating both ancestry (his father, never his occluded mother) and posterity. Or perhaps 23 is to indicate the twenty-third pair, and thus sexual difference. Johnny remains alienated at best from any female manifestations, despite his attraction to them.
I borrowed these books from the public library: X-ed Out first, and then The Hive and Sugar Skull together. Despite the fact that they were initially published over a four- or five-year span, I think it would be best to have all three volumes on hand when reading any of them. There are recurrent images and references that made me want to review the first book, especially its opening pages, as I finished reading the last.
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Original publication date
2014