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sookieskipper's review
4.0
Enigma is a love story of all the tedious people - those who don't go out the small circle they live in and lead a life as one stagnant stream of consciousness. Micheal Smith is woken up from such a life when his childhood comic book hero comes to life.
It isn't the plot but the tenacity with which Milligan moves the narration. It is a dogged effort complete with raw apathy, blood, gore and a harsh exposition of the world. The supervillains who wreck the day are mirrors that exemplify our own thoughts that lurk in the shadiest part of or mind. One such supervillain shows people the truth - the ones that no one wants to acknowledge in their own mind on any given day but its existence is enough for them be ashamed of the thought. This leaves the people in a fugue state and naturally Enigma, the superhero, saves the day.
Milligan dedicates several pages for Enigma to take root in our own consciousness and start seeing the world beyond the edges. Micheal Smith bursts out of his shell and confronts his sexuality first hand. The moment is cathartic and Fegredo's art accompanies Milligan's sharp insight. The art becomes sharper, Enigma's face gets clearer and comes to full vision as the story progresses. Milligan never mis-steps, never lets go of the thread that he first picked up with the line,
The writing is at places troublesome; its obnoxious, unnecessarily loud when it should have been quiet and uncomfortable. Yet it easily impacts the narration and pulls you in down the well. Fegredo's art complements Milligan's writing, thus making even the art difficult in some places. There is a continuous quest to understand the happenstances, the allegories, the metaphors, the subtle and the implied all through the book. The art plays spectacularly with the words and balances visual experiences.
Micheal Smith, the protagonist struggles till the very end the nature of right and wrong, the duality of existence. Enigma poses a problem when such a nature is questioned while Micheal finds it difficult to exist without it. The dialogues between Micheal and Enigma at the middle of the book seems errant and superficial. Micheal bemoans about semantics while Enigma treats truth as a literal thing. Milligan forces readers to stop and rethink. In that, he is truly remarkable as a writer.
Enigma is a post modern phantasmagoria with each emotion brought to life on paper with piercing words and sharp art.
It isn't the plot but the tenacity with which Milligan moves the narration. It is a dogged effort complete with raw apathy, blood, gore and a harsh exposition of the world. The supervillains who wreck the day are mirrors that exemplify our own thoughts that lurk in the shadiest part of or mind. One such supervillain shows people the truth - the ones that no one wants to acknowledge in their own mind on any given day but its existence is enough for them be ashamed of the thought. This leaves the people in a fugue state and naturally Enigma, the superhero, saves the day.
Milligan dedicates several pages for Enigma to take root in our own consciousness and start seeing the world beyond the edges. Micheal Smith bursts out of his shell and confronts his sexuality first hand. The moment is cathartic and Fegredo's art accompanies Milligan's sharp insight. The art becomes sharper, Enigma's face gets clearer and comes to full vision as the story progresses. Milligan never mis-steps, never lets go of the thread that he first picked up with the line,
"You could say it all started in Arizona. Twenty five years ago. On a farm. It was an ordinary sort of farm in Arizona. The kind of place you have sexual relations with your parents and end up shooting someone."
The writing is at places troublesome; its obnoxious, unnecessarily loud when it should have been quiet and uncomfortable. Yet it easily impacts the narration and pulls you in down the well. Fegredo's art complements Milligan's writing, thus making even the art difficult in some places. There is a continuous quest to understand the happenstances, the allegories, the metaphors, the subtle and the implied all through the book. The art plays spectacularly with the words and balances visual experiences.
Micheal Smith, the protagonist struggles till the very end the nature of right and wrong, the duality of existence. Enigma poses a problem when such a nature is questioned while Micheal finds it difficult to exist without it. The dialogues between Micheal and Enigma at the middle of the book seems errant and superficial. Micheal bemoans about semantics while Enigma treats truth as a literal thing. Milligan forces readers to stop and rethink. In that, he is truly remarkable as a writer.
Enigma is a post modern phantasmagoria with each emotion brought to life on paper with piercing words and sharp art.
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