Sugar Skull
by Charles Burns (Jonathan Cape, 2014)
To his credit, Burns ties all the loose threads together and brings the trilogy to a coherent close. On the downside, everything weird, dark and seemingly portentous in the previous volumes is revealed to have mundane origins, rather cheapening the overall experience.
The Hive
by Charles Burns (Pantheon, 2012)
In what already was a knotty and obscure story, Burns contrives to add new layers, answering few (if any) of the questions raised in X’ed Out. At this point it’s hard to see the trilogy delivering more than just mood and grotesquerie.
Black Hole
by Charles Burns (Pantheon, 2005) [collecting Black Hole #1-12, Fantagraphics, 1995-2004]
Burns goes all out in this shadowy and grotesque, trippy mix of 70s teen culture, body horror and sexually explicit allegory (self-identity; belonging). The plot is deliberately abstruse, and though the black-and-white artwork is striking, some characters are hard to tell apart.
X’ed Out
by Charles Burns (Pantheon, 2010)
In this confronting homage, Burns shows us what Tintin’s adventures might be like if they took place in a grim alternative reality (think the Upside Down of ‘Stranger Things’). Burns lacks Hergé’s sense of movement and pacing but this remains darkly memorable.