Comic Review: Parenthesis GN (IDW Publishing)

The winner of three awards from the Angouleme Comics Festival, the graphic novel Parenthesis is now available from IDW.

Based on the gripping experiences of cartoonist Élodie Durand, Parenthesis pulls us into her days, months and years of clinical treatment for symptoms of a brain tumour.

The journey is of such intensity (including drawings done by Durand before diagnosis and during her treatment) that it’s understandable how this visual autobiography has realized such acclaim. It’s a frank and frightening road she travels, as her health declines, leaving her mentally confused and physically exhausted. Durand’s gift to us is her ability to explain what she has gone through, to show us, lead us on the path that she has travelled and survived. Such strength!

The rhythms, the drawings, the conversations, the observations collide and intervweave in Parenthesis to make this a truly compelling read, strongly recommended.

IDW Top Shelf, $19.99 for 228 pages of black and white content