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A review by tashtonnes
Ant Colony by Michael DeForge
5.0
"Why am I suddenly horny?"
"The pheromones are released from the bodies and stay in the air for days after a cremation."
"The sky looks cool like that."
I loved this graphic novel that predominately features a short glimpse into the lives of five ants from the same colony whose lives altered and uprooted by a brief and bloody war.
There's not an awful lot of plot in this novel, nor is there solutions or even questions, only things and events that just are. While this is a beautiful graphic novel which briefly mentions and displays many different themes the most prominent aspect of Ant Colony is that it makes you feel uncomfortable. It drills down to the core of existence and this theme is pared with gross kinda squeamish illustrations.
I'll try to keep this brief, as that is exactly what Ant Colony is (it only took me like five minutes to read), I liked this novel but I am not as fond of it as I was of the first DeForge comic I read, Very Casual. I feel that DeForges' stories are very hit or miss, in regards to personal opinion, in an analytical sense they are all very good but I have a few different stand out favourites for no other particular reason aside from I liked them. This is why I think that having one novel with many different stories works better for DeForge than having one overarching story, as in Ant Colony.
If this looks like your thing and you're ready to be kinda grossed out, uncomfortable and reflective give this novel ago, if not, try one of his comics with numerous stories to see if he can make something you'll like, or just leave this be, it takes a certain type.
Also, I learnt too many ant facts that I care to know, in ways which I would rather not have learnt them.
"The pheromones are released from the bodies and stay in the air for days after a cremation."
"The sky looks cool like that."
I loved this graphic novel that predominately features a short glimpse into the lives of five ants from the same colony whose lives altered and uprooted by a brief and bloody war.
There's not an awful lot of plot in this novel, nor is there solutions or even questions, only things and events that just are. While this is a beautiful graphic novel which briefly mentions and displays many different themes the most prominent aspect of Ant Colony is that it makes you feel uncomfortable. It drills down to the core of existence and this theme is pared with gross kinda squeamish illustrations.
I'll try to keep this brief, as that is exactly what Ant Colony is (it only took me like five minutes to read), I liked this novel but I am not as fond of it as I was of the first DeForge comic I read, Very Casual. I feel that DeForges' stories are very hit or miss, in regards to personal opinion, in an analytical sense they are all very good but I have a few different stand out favourites for no other particular reason aside from I liked them. This is why I think that having one novel with many different stories works better for DeForge than having one overarching story, as in Ant Colony.
If this looks like your thing and you're ready to be kinda grossed out, uncomfortable and reflective give this novel ago, if not, try one of his comics with numerous stories to see if he can make something you'll like, or just leave this be, it takes a certain type.
Also, I learnt too many ant facts that I care to know, in ways which I would rather not have learnt them.