Everything We Miss

by Luke Pearson (Author, Illustrator)

Have you ever wondered what goes on in your life when you're looking the other way? Perhaps you're so drawn into what's going on with you that you fail to notice the events taking place in your preiphery - or even right under your nose? In Everything We Miss, Luke Pearson explores the dying days of a failing relationship through the infinitesimal unseen moments tht surround it - and us.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Adult, Magical Realism, Fantasy

38 pages, Hardcover

First published June 20, 2011

About the author

Luke Pearson is a British illustrator, cartoonist, and comic book writer best known for the Hilda series of comics for Nobrow Press, and Hilda, the Netflix series based on the comics. He has also storyboarded episodes of the Cartoon Network series Adventure Time, during its fifth and seventh seasons.

Reviews

[disco · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dark take on what happens while were not paying attention. I loved the author's creative illustrations.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beautifully packaged short tale in a small book format about the end of a relationship and the things that our young anti-hero contributes to that ending. A bleak tale, which may be about depression more than anything. Pearson is best known for Hilda kid comics and they are fun and amazingly well drawn. This story gives Pearson a kind of outlet for adult realism. In it he dwells on darkness, disease, death and other forms of d-doom in addition to the end of this relationship. The art is terrific, Pearson is a great artist, so the look and feel of this is great. Sometimes both the art and story have fantasy/horror elements, taking on the form of allegory for the Dark Night of the Soul. It's good, overall, but it's just not that compelling or insightful to me, unfortunately.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slightly eerie but beautifully told tale documenting the end of a relationship but also highlighting the small aspects of life we seemingly miss when our back is turned.

The term 'tunnel vision' springs to mind since Pearson depicts how a lot of our (potential) encounters in life occur just outside the periphery of our vision, and since we do not look around us nor observe our environment we miss out on weird and wonderful things, and other things that might just be the saving of us.

Having read this, I feel more aware of my environment now so I shall be keeping my eyes peeled - I want to see all the beauty of life, the fantastic, the weird, the strange, and of course, the wonderful.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are strange shadowy creatures that enter own heads and use us like puppets to say hurtful things to our loved ones. There are strange slug-like monsters that inhabit our houses causing people to doubt themselves and argue with one another. There are ghosts in every house and skeletal conjoined foetuses on the beach. Trees dance and magic happens every day when our backs are turned.

Luke Pearson’s second graphic novel is about primarily the final days of a relationship but also about the real beauty of life which we miss when focused on things seemingly more important but are in fact just as fleeting.

The drawing style is beautiful and it’s monotone colour and shadows match the gloomy feel of the story. That said, it’s a very short read and an idea tentatively explored. Some nice ideas and stylish illustrating mean that Luke Pearson will probably write a great comic book one day but “Everything We Miss” is not that book. This is probably only for comics fans who like indie stuff, have spare cash to shell out for a short but well produced hardback, and are emotionally well balanced.

[Dov Zeller · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a beautiful, mournful little book. I enjoyed it and the art is great. The bleakness is, well, bleak. There is something in there, though, about not believing in your own demons in a way. There is a sense that right beyond the haunted self-absorption of the protagonist is a world of connection and perhaps a decent shave. Between a 3 and a 4.

[Sonic · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is fantastic! Brilliant, original, and heart-felt, I love when I discover books like this...

Wow.

[Dominika Žáková · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lyrický komiks o posledných dňoch vzťahu a o smútku, nečakane hravý a (po prečítaní Hildy) čakane šarmantný. Francúzština mu svedčí.

[Rikke Simonsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dette var en virkelig eftertænksom, og en anelse skummel tegneserie (eller graphic novel). Den var ikke uhyggelig på sådan en 'jeg er meget skræmt'-måde, men nærmere bare stille og lidt dyster, som så medvirker til, at man bliver lidt eftertænksom af bogen. Findes der virkelig ting, som vi slet ikke bemærker fordi vi er så travlt optaget af vores egen hverdag? Vi støder på forskellige personer i bogen, og de er alle sammen i forskellige situationer, og selvom bogen ikke er særlig lang, så får man alligevel en ret god fornemmelse af, hvordan og hvorledes det hele hænger sammen. En meget fin bog, og bestemt anbefalelsesværdig. Jeg glæder mig til at læse mere, og se flere tegninger af Luke Pearson.

[Cally Mac · Rating 4 out of 5]

The guy seemed like a bit of a douche really but aren't we all douches? Enjoyed basically everything about this.

[Emilia P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aw, man. Again with the Ivan Brunetti (who I haven't read, but Lynda Barry talks about sometimes) influence. Also, emooooo romance junkkkk. But dude, so well done -- a man looking out the window misses his wife levitating in the air, split into 16 pieces, reassemble self and float back down into the bed -- Just think about the simplest and most breathtaking way that can be communicated. And he does it! So nice. Also -- one of the best/simplest/most effective representations of the ubiquitousness of personal demons/ghosts in the dark corners of our everyday lives. Actual wiggly spooky little shadow creatures! I dunno. I just really liked it. It was beautiful, and sad, and what else do you need.

[Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like pretty much everything from Nobrow Press, EWM is another argument in favor of the book as object. The book is more poem than story, despite various narrative threads that run through it, and Pearson's clear, well designed drawings fit perfectly.

[Ott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so good! An exquisite mixture of verbal and pictorial prose (almost poetry, I would suggest) and weird phantasy. It just might be that I was in the perfect state for reading it or, and this is more likely, it is just that good! The only minus is that it is too damn short - more please!

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bleak and eye-opening. Thanks for sharing, Jason!

[Αλέξανδρος · Rating 4 out of 5]

Πολύ στενάχωρο κόμικ που δίνει μια διαφορετική ματιά στις μικρές απογοητεύσεις που έχουμε και πως σιγά σιγά γίνονται μεγαλύτερες και γίνονται εμπόδιο στο να ζήσουμε τη ζωή μας.

[Jacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tragic. Poetic. Interesting.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devastating and moving. I also found a small glimpse of hope toward the end. It’s comforting to know we all feel the same feelings, deep down.

[Arminzerella · Rating 2 out of 5]

Luke Pearson captures all of the sadness, and horror, and pain of the moments that go unobserved (except perhaps by the Anurids – orange, multi-legged creatures that are fascinated by humans) in “Everything We Miss.” It is a very dark and depressing place, full of unhappy people, whose misery is only increased by what they don’t know, can’t – or fail to see. It’s all too real.

Very different from his Hilda books (children’s graphic novels), which have a lot more whimsy and positive energy. This leaves you with a deep sadness for humanity – that we can be so unaware and alone, trapped in our heads and in our lives.

Note: The Anurids remind me of my box elder bug infestation – they also seem interested in everything I do. I am constantly observed!

[Jessica Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't think I would have given this five stars were I not an anxiety and depression ridden, desperately-in-need-of-mental-health-help, sad girl. It's a bleak look at the unraveling of a relationship, but also a look at what happens all around us that goes unnoticed and slips by as we are consumed by the tiny little fraction of the world in which we live. This adult graphic novel is a culmination of everything I stress about daily, and the contemplations that made me fall in love with the study of philosophy (and, really, also human psychology, which go hand in hand for me). Don't read this while eating overcooked eggs on a morning when you wake up in a shitty mood, like I just did.

[Elliott Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not only is this about a failing relationship but also about what goes into it. Our expectations, our fears, our jealousy and our anxiety. At times very poetic and beautifully bizzare but other times a little bit too abstract where I'm not quite sure what the symbolism means (shadow in the bar clutching his head, giant at sea etc). The Omnipresent Anurid is such a fun idea for a creature but should have been introduced earlier in the book as a point of view.

This is a great proof of concept and could easily be a much longer book with chapters breaking up the ideas. Instead it feels like there's too many ideas crowding the central story.

[Kelechi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully illustrated graphic novel, but the narrative is what I enjoyed the most. So much happens in the side-lines of our lives that we tend to miss just because other issues seem a lot more important. I'm not going to over intellectualise the whole thing, just read it and smile.

[Sara ➽ Ink Is My Sword · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Jonathan Tennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful little graphic novel that looks at the unseen moments in life...the things we miss.

[Retinotopy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried.

[Dustyloup]

Deliciously dark!

[Elna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not sure what I expected...a a meditation on the slow death of a relationship? A quiet, affecting look at how things die slowly when you're not looking? Maybe was was promised in the book description?

Everything We Miss is shorter than it should be, and digresses too much from what it purports to be about. Technically, yes, it does "explore the final days of a dying relationship through the infinitesimal unseen moments that surround it," but these unseen moments that surround it are nonsensical and irrelevant. Anthropodic creatures that love to watch humans and a re never seen is a great concept, but the do nothing for the plot or the meaning here, and that's but one example of things that seem to be thrown in for... I'm not even sure what.

[Bryce Galloway · Rating 4 out of 5]

A comic of the everyday, ripe with fantastical entities that no one notices. The artist scans the environment, from macro to micro, returning ever few pages to a couple playing mind games with each other while their relationship splinters. Reminds me of that song by The Police that I loved in my mid-teens, Synchronicity II’s lyrics intimately describe a man’s dreary urban toil, inexplicably jumping to ‘many miles away something crawls to the surface of a dark Scottish loch.’
A surprising array of tones and colours achieved in the print by carefully working the density of orange and black only, becomes grey, becomes charcoal, becomes pumpkin, pastel, brown…
The figuration isn’t really my up of tea but the environments and play-of-light are well realised.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

a very short book about, as the title suggests, everything that people miss--as in not notice or pay attention to, things we are unable to perceive, things we regret no longer having and missed connections or letters. Not at all a happy graphic novel, still a very strange and intriguing collection of miniature stories bookended with a sad lonely man driving in the dark at night for reasons he can't explain. I can see some of the ideas that Luke Pearson would end up using in his Hildafolk books for children--particularly the supernatural creatures people miss and seem to be making the main character miserable.

[Chelsea Martinez · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book is a bit too short. The relationship is important to the guy... but we never see why, even in flashback, we just have to trust the author. Visually I loved it: the orange white and black are a little halloweeny but tonally it was more like Goodnight Moon for depressed people (in a good way)

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very interesting premise but there's just no story here. Just a bit too dark depressing and seems to be trying too hard. Also I would typically expect this to be somewhat autobiographical and would worry about the author, though Luke's Hilda series is quite wonderful, stick with that.

[AC · Rating 5 out of 5]

The concept that we miss so many things while we're focusing or looking at something else is really powerful and interesting. The art is very engaging and I really liked how the author used the panels to send you through this short graphic novel. Visually appealing and poignant in a simplistic way.