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284th out of 1,502 books
—
3,026 voters
X'ed Out
From the creator of Black Hole: the first volume of an epic masterpiece of graphic fiction in brilliant color.
Doug is having a strange night. A weird buzzing noise on the other side of the wall has woken him up, and there, across the room, next to a huge hole torn out of the bricks, sits his beloved cat, Inky. Who died years ago. But who’s nonetheless slinking out through...more
Doug is having a strange night. A weird buzzing noise on the other side of the wall has woken him up, and there, across the room, next to a huge hole torn out of the bricks, sits his beloved cat, Inky. Who died years ago. But who’s nonetheless slinking out through...more
Hardcover, 56 pages
Published
October 19th 2010
by Pantheon
(first published January 1st 2010)
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charles burns has got quiiiite a racket going...
i blame comic book nerds for this and for everything. charles burns seems to think that now that graphic novels have "arrived" on the NPR scene, and literate adults with the love of a good pencil line and a more complex storyline than "zap" or "pow" will still somehow retain the same collectivist impulses of pimply comicbook preteens who buy two copies and immediately slip one into a protective mylar coccoon. he is counting on the collector tendenc...more
i blame comic book nerds for this and for everything. charles burns seems to think that now that graphic novels have "arrived" on the NPR scene, and literate adults with the love of a good pencil line and a more complex storyline than "zap" or "pow" will still somehow retain the same collectivist impulses of pimply comicbook preteens who buy two copies and immediately slip one into a protective mylar coccoon. he is counting on the collector tendenc...more
37 likes · like · see review
view all 17 comments
Man, oh man, does Charles Burns know how to speak my language.
Grungy-punk youth culture? Check.
Surreal nightmare visions tinged with existential horror? Check
Reference to Patti Smith’s music? Check
Lizard people? Check.
Uncomfortable and unconventional relationship dynamics? Oh yeah, check that one a couple of times.
Blurred lines between art and existence? Check.
This is only the first part in a trilogy of slim graphic novels, but you can’t sayX’ed Out does not deliver if my little check-list abov...more
Grungy-punk youth culture? Check.
Surreal nightmare visions tinged with existential horror? Check
Reference to Patti Smith’s music? Check
Lizard people? Check.
Uncomfortable and unconventional relationship dynamics? Oh yeah, check that one a couple of times.
Blurred lines between art and existence? Check.
This is only the first part in a trilogy of slim graphic novels, but you can’t sayX’ed Out does not deliver if my little check-list abov...more
15 likes · like · see review
To judge Charles Burns' X'ed Out immediately would be unfair; being the first of a series, it's kinda hard to tell where this one is going. Sure, the first installment always sets the tone, always, for what will be one's lingering, nagging initial impression of it all, the one opinion that, no matter how long and dragging or short and succinct the entire series is, you will never be rid of.
And, this being my first view of Charles Burns' work (I just got around to reading Black Hole), I don't wan...more
And, this being my first view of Charles Burns' work (I just got around to reading Black Hole), I don't wan...more
2 likes · like · see review
The first issue in Burns' next long-form story, X'ed Out reads like a conflation of his own Black Hole moved on to 20-somethings with Naked Lunch (Burroughs gets a direct nod inside) and some kind of dismal-exotic Tintin adventure. It's a real intriguing start, building up unsettling, eye-catching motifs from the first page and slipping fluidly from conscious-present to remembered-past into subconscious-dreamworld collisions of the two. Sort of like the structure of Irvine Welsh's Marabou Stork...more
In the tradition of Charles Burns’ past work, Black Hole, comes X’ed Out, again with gorgeous artwork, only this time, rendered in beautiful color. In this new graphic novel, however, it’s unfair to review it because it is the first installment --in I believe a trilogy-- and is totally, completely fucked up in it’s fever dream-esque sensibilities, jumping around from an alternate reality where there’s alien/lizard-like worker-bee creatures, and giant, splotchy robin-color egg harvesting with sai...more
I'm not quite sure what to make of this... in a good way. Charles Burn's "Black Hole" is one of those comics that I always direct friends to who want something that's both visually striking and intellectually or emotionally compelling. It's strange blend of nightmare imagery and adolescent awkwardness somehow manages to be both alien and intimate. And, in those regards, X-ed Out seems like a companion piece... but that's pretty much where the similarities end.
This book, which is apparently the...more
This book, which is apparently the...more
As first book in the series this did just enough to make me want to get the second one. I haven't read any Burns before, but I'm liking his style so far. It's creepy and original, but a little too angsty in some places. I'm hoping that the series will move away from the angst and go deeper into the weird.
The cover of this was what sold me on trying it. I was a huge Tintin fan and seeing the cover of L'Etoile Mysterieuse done in Burns' own style was awesome. You can see Herge's influence throug...more
The cover of this was what sold me on trying it. I was a huge Tintin fan and seeing the cover of L'Etoile Mysterieuse done in Burns' own style was awesome. You can see Herge's influence throug...more
Reading X'ed out is like staring at a Salvador Dali painting. The familiar mixed in with the morbid. The real mixed in with the surreal. There are no linear plot lines here. On no sir. X'ed out is almost manically multi layered.
Starting with the cover, the callbacks to Herge's Tintin stand out. The protagonist is an artist named Doug whose alter ego 'Nitnit' spits out William Burroughs influenced hipster poetry to the accompaniment of recordings of traffic and TV noises. The title seems to descr...more
Starting with the cover, the callbacks to Herge's Tintin stand out. The protagonist is an artist named Doug whose alter ego 'Nitnit' spits out William Burroughs influenced hipster poetry to the accompaniment of recordings of traffic and TV noises. The title seems to descr...more
I picked this up on a whim from the library from the graphic novels display. I'd heard the name Charles Burns, but aside from perhaps a collection of authors, had not read any of his work.
His non-linear storytelling, graphics style, and typography are all appealing to me. What was not appealing was that this is not a stand-alone volume. In fact, after reading it, I knew very little of the storyline at all-- and not enough to ensure that I will pick up the next volume.
Bound in hardcover, I was ex...more
His non-linear storytelling, graphics style, and typography are all appealing to me. What was not appealing was that this is not a stand-alone volume. In fact, after reading it, I knew very little of the storyline at all-- and not enough to ensure that I will pick up the next volume.
Bound in hardcover, I was ex...more
Black Hole was my introduction to Charles Burns, and I read it as a collection, so I was disappointed when I realized that this was only the first installment of a longer work. It's beautifully printed, but I wish they had held off until the story was complete.
I've never read a Tintin comic, only seen snippets of them, but the iconic hairdo was instantly recognizable, and I love the way the narrative and the artwork swing between dream (?) and reality, between traditionally "cartoon" elements,...more
I've never read a Tintin comic, only seen snippets of them, but the iconic hairdo was instantly recognizable, and I love the way the narrative and the artwork swing between dream (?) and reality, between traditionally "cartoon" elements,...more
Burns' artwork is really beautiful to view. His subject matter is often twisted and disturbing, dark and grim, his linework and colors are really amazing.
I'm a little surprised that this was published in hard cover, as it's the first in a series, not unlike Y The Last Man. It's great that Pantheon is investing resources in this. There are very few answers in this volume, merely a shallow introduction to the characters and the fantasy dream world of our protagonist. It's unclear if this is straig...more
I'm a little surprised that this was published in hard cover, as it's the first in a series, not unlike Y The Last Man. It's great that Pantheon is investing resources in this. There are very few answers in this volume, merely a shallow introduction to the characters and the fantasy dream world of our protagonist. It's unclear if this is straig...more
At first I thought this was a stand-alone graphic novel, but it's only the first chapter of what promises to be a much longer work. I am intrigued, baffled and creeped out in the same manner that I was intrigued, baffled and creeped out by "Black Hole" when I first read the comic book installments. With "Black Hole", one of the problems of reading it in installment format was the length of time between issues, sometimes a year or more. I would tend to forget key images and plot points that hold...more
I confess that I don't have a catholic taste in graphic novels. My list of 5-star favorites would include It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken by Seth; Jar of Fools by Jason Lutes; most definitely Alison Bechdel's Fun Home; and anything by Loustal & Paringaux. (None of which I've reviewed on GoodReads, for some reason.) But it's a short list.
I picked up Charles Burns' Black Hole a few years ago when it first appeared, and was amazed by his drawing, which elevates into art a style I first di...more
I picked up Charles Burns' Black Hole a few years ago when it first appeared, and was amazed by his drawing, which elevates into art a style I first di...more
R. Crumb's blurb on the back cover says it all: 'It's almost as if the artist...as if he weren't quite...human!'
This is really just a ritzy comic book, the same length as the ones I used to buy for a dime, enlarged in page size, enhanced with gorgeously lush color, encased in hardcover, going for twenty bucks.
It's worth it (easy for me to say, because I borrowed it from my library).
A young man wakes up, at first remembering very little except that he doesn't know where he is. That's because wh...more
This is really just a ritzy comic book, the same length as the ones I used to buy for a dime, enlarged in page size, enhanced with gorgeously lush color, encased in hardcover, going for twenty bucks.
It's worth it (easy for me to say, because I borrowed it from my library).
A young man wakes up, at first remembering very little except that he doesn't know where he is. That's because wh...more
X'ed Out is what life would be like if you were listening to Pink Floyd and reading Kurt Vonnegut while living in a David Cronenberg film. It is the first in a new series of books (definately Rated R) by author and illustrator Charles Burns. This is how Wikipedia describes him: "Burns is renowned for his meticulous, high-contrast and creepy artwork and stories." He has designed album covers for Iggy Pop and had a series of stories entitled Dogboy adapted for MTV. The storyline of this piece is a...more
O primeiro volume da nova série de um dos mais interessantes e intrigantes autores de comics é algo difícil de digerir. O traço preciso e as cores contrastantes, com uma certa reminiscência de Hergé e Moebius, envolvem-nos numa história onírica onde sonhos, reminiscências e realidade se misturam de forma fluída, inspirada na escrita apocrífica de William Burroughs.
O argumento leva-nos ao mundo de Doug, que está a recuperar de um acidente. A sua mente vai saltitando do real banal, suportado com...more
O argumento leva-nos ao mundo de Doug, que está a recuperar de um acidente. A sua mente vai saltitando do real banal, suportado com...more
A cross between William S. Burroughs and TinTin. I think a lot of reviewers get this book all wrong. Has more to do with Expressionism and Surrealism than conventional story telling. There is a lot of criticism of "dream sequences and imagery." This gets it all wrong too. There is no way to separate dream from reality here. The protagonist keeps "waking up" (with more or less hair) to the next reality, not the next dream. This has more in common with P.K. Dick themes about the nature of reality...more
Late to the party on "Black Hole" which I found gripping, this is just setting the table for another (hopefully lengthy) compendium. Burns overloads metaphors, in words and even better in images, such that this feels like a fertile bed for more to come. Albeit, the bed may be a sick bed as well.
Sarah, the tortured artist/aim of amour in this reminds me of the tailed wonder from Black Hole. The fetal pig shrine, feels like maybe their is an undercurrent of abortion possibly coming up through the...more
Sarah, the tortured artist/aim of amour in this reminds me of the tailed wonder from Black Hole. The fetal pig shrine, feels like maybe their is an undercurrent of abortion possibly coming up through the...more
It's fairly apparent that Charles Burns is an admirer of Hergé - from the cover to the art, the resemblance to the artwork of Tintin is startling. I like this, being as I really enjoyed Tintin as a child and young adult (I'd probably still like it - I just don't have them any more... now I'm wondering where exactly they went... hrm).
That being said, this most certainly is not a work the magnitude of, say, Black Hole. I had my hopes up, and must admit to having been very disappointed when I disco...more
That being said, this most certainly is not a work the magnitude of, say, Black Hole. I had my hopes up, and must admit to having been very disappointed when I disco...more
In describing his creative process, the great painter Jasper Johns once famously said: "Do something. Do something to that. And then do something to that." As a mature cartoonist, Charles Burns has, it seems, clearly focused on what he wants to do with comics. And now he’s doing it again. On the one hand, Burns’s decision not to try something radically different may come as a disappointment to some of his readers; on the other hand, since the results are so beautiful to look at, and capture such...more
First book in a new series, so highly anticipated, or was.. or still is, by lots of people? Anyway, it is signature Burns: bizarre, spooky, simple in some of the drawing that almost comically masks a lot of ambiguity and... insanity, hallucination... Comics going mainstream? Not Burns... As readers read more and more and accept more bizarre standards for comic art (is this happening? I think it is..) Burns is going to keep going farther out, maybe. I loved Black Hole, and didn't fully understand...more
This book ends on a pretty huge cliff-hanger...not really a fan of multi-volume books that can't stand alone to some degree. I'll definitely read the rest of the series when it comes out, but I wish there had been more answers!
Charles Burns has a flawless illustration style, and this book is unique because he utilizes two distinct styles to differentiate between the alien/dream world and the real world. So that's pretty neat...it's kind of creepy to see Burns using a more cartoony style but stil...more
Charles Burns has a flawless illustration style, and this book is unique because he utilizes two distinct styles to differentiate between the alien/dream world and the real world. So that's pretty neat...it's kind of creepy to see Burns using a more cartoony style but stil...more
I find Charles Burns deeply unsettling. When I first read Black Hole, I had to put the book down every few pages, because I would start to feel nauseous. Even with the innocuous panels, just looking at the characters' mouths slightly agape, the bulbous pimples on their faces...it was too much. Now with X'ed Out, Burns goes even further: pig fetuses, worms screaming their way out of meat, lifeless aliens. It wouldn't be so bad if all this grotesquery were in service of something, but X'ed Out is...more
Hard to review before its done, but its more Burns!
Theres a Wizard of Oz thing going on right now where images and people in the conked out dream land hes in are reappearing in the flashbacks of tin tins life. Really got a feel like Black hole, but it works so well, I cant blame him for sticking around there. I reckon as it goes on the themes will space them out a bit.
The frames he sets up are always so great. Filled with odd balls and expressions you cant quite put your finger on, theres always...more
Theres a Wizard of Oz thing going on right now where images and people in the conked out dream land hes in are reappearing in the flashbacks of tin tins life. Really got a feel like Black hole, but it works so well, I cant blame him for sticking around there. I reckon as it goes on the themes will space them out a bit.
The frames he sets up are always so great. Filled with odd balls and expressions you cant quite put your finger on, theres always...more
This is the second time I have read this book and it was a lot less jarring. The first time I missed the little line on the last page that reads "Next: The Hive" and having no idea it was a "Part One" I didn't feel like there was much of a story here. Just a short fevered nightmare.
However, once that was established it really peaked my interest because the curtain is very slowly pulled back. It is still a fevered nightmare but there is something more going on and Burns doesn't give up the goods...more
However, once that was established it really peaked my interest because the curtain is very slowly pulled back. It is still a fevered nightmare but there is something more going on and Burns doesn't give up the goods...more
You know you've read too many surrealist comic books when Burns's stuff seems tame. This is like (and it's supposed to be like) Tintin on Acid? Right? Fetal pigs, fetal aliens, blood and guts and bug-eyed little dudes. Also, with a real life story line about a crazy, beautiful artist girl. I am not saying I could have done without the real life story, but I ... could have. More Weird! But, it is the beginning of a series. So, that's cool. I am surprised I hadn't read it before. Black Hole was pr...more
My first read of Charles Burns. It's dark and deep and little bit creepy
Looking forward to the second volume. Hopefully I won't forget the key elements
Looking forward to the second volume. Hopefully I won't forget the key elements
X'ed Out seems to have the potential to develop into one of Charles Burns' major works. While this first installment leaves many unanswered questions, it nevertheless gets the narrative off to an intriguing start, rich with dreams and memories that may or may not reflect the protagonist's own reality. With plenty of visual nods to the classic Tintin adventures, it seems likely that Burns has some larger scheme in mind that cannot be fully revealed until later volumes in the series, but with grea...more
Strange, thought provoking and sensitive. I was pleasantly (Although,I'm not sure the word pleasantly fits with this book.) surprised at how much I enjoyed "X'ED Out". I thought I'd try some new reading material. I haven't read a lot of comics or graphic novels but, I've been wanting to give them a try after seeing the excellent movie "Persepolis". I came across "X'ED" out while browsing at the bookstore; It was an easy read and short enough so,I actually read it right there on the spot without...more
Mar 06, 2013
Barrett
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommended to Barrett by:
Dixson
Shelves:
graphic-novels
so... this is one creepy read. the friend that loaned it to me advised me not to read it before bedtime. glad i took that advice. it's a brief but bizarre trip through (best i can tell, at least) memory and dreams, populated with drugs, lizard men, fetal pigs, one-eyed creatures that make omelets, and large eggs.
since this is the first in a series, it makes sense that this one is just setting the stage... you basically spend most of the 20 minutes it'll take you to read it wondering what exactl...more
since this is the first in a series, it makes sense that this one is just setting the stage... you basically spend most of the 20 minutes it'll take you to read it wondering what exactl...more
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CHARLES BURNS grew up in Seattle in the 1970s. His work rose to prominence in Art Spiegelman's Raw magazine in the mid-1980s and took off from there, in an extraordinary range of comics and projects, from Iggy Pop album covers to the latest ad campaign for Altoids. In 1992 he designed the sets for Mark Morris's restaging of The Nutcracker (renamed The Hard Nut) at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. He...more
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