The Blot. Tom Neely 2007
182 pages in black and white.

The Black Ink stain is the Blot that names the comic – excuse me, the “graphic novel”. The fog that creates discomfort dirty the corners and invades the streets and the interior of people.

The characters that appear in this mute black and white story transport us to the 1930s through the thin, long figures that remind us of the Olivia de Popeye, the round heads and black eyes in the shape of an oval. The disproportion of legs, arms and bodies, and the naive gestures of the characters, at first, give a naive touch to the comic book, which clashes with the bitterness of history, after a few episodes of landing, from the moment the black spot takes over the protagonist. The protagonist of the book, a young man without a name, will go to the street on a Tuesday (we don’t know if the reference to the day by the most unique letters of the book hides some metaphor) and will soon realize that that day will not be like the others. A stain will chase you through the city without a name and will not let you sleep at night. They will fight without problems until the spot robs the young man's identity. The narrative adopts a surreal, absurd and hopeful tone, often disturbing.

Tom Neely (Texas, URL0). 1975) used very little color in his first “graphic novel”, as in most graphic novels (1). Only towards the end do some red and green touches appear to draw two very different scenes. On the one hand, when the protagonist hits himself, which is the most violent scene in the book; and, on the other, the episode of the green lemon tree that can be considered a symbol of hope. (Quiet, because I haven't discovered the end)

(1) What mania I am taking that term!