Becoming Horses

by Disa Wallander

Sometimes I dream about myself
and in my dream I'm someone else
But also, I am me
becoming the horse that I want to be.

Was it always like this? What if your self portrait was a collection of weird shapes? Have you ever felt like an abstract painting? Do you ever simultaneously wish and worry that the boundaries of your body will melt away and you'll become a magnificent horse? Becoming Horses is a book about squinting hard and looking from the right angle to find that everything around you sparkles—just a little—and the shapes of things are not firm but fuzzy. The You you know may shift and take form as a beautiful horse, a sunset, or something so special, so huge that you could never describe it.

Disa Wallander’s Becoming Horses is a mix of delicate cartooning and brash collage—watercolor and photography. Her colorful flowing drawings and watercolors are experimental yet accessible, as her characters mull big questions about life and art, philosophizing in a thoroughly modern voice. Bright dialogue and pleading silences create a beautiful journey that is, in fact, “the destination.”

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction

160 pages, Paperback

Published February 25, 2020

About the author

Disa Wallander is a Swedish cartoonist living and working in Stockholm. She loves to make zines and experiment with bringing collage and 3D materials into her comics. In her early twenties she read some philosophy books that suggested that nothing was real and ever since then she has made comics with the compulsion to affirm the existence of the world inside her head.

Her sporadic comic strip "Slowly dying" features an array of nameless characters that also appear in the long-form books The Nature of Nature and Becoming Horses. Her work has been featured in various anthologies such as NOW, kuš!, Drunken Boat, and Nobrow Magazine.

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Sometimes I dream about myself.
And in my dream I'm someone else.
But then again, I am me
Becoming the horse I want to be."--Wallander

Philosophical comics.Not a narrative, though cute little figures so travel through a kind of dream-like space. But it's not about the destination or some explanation of meaning, but the journey through endless questions about the nature or reality and identity. The art is collage, mixed-media, watercolor, dreamscape fantasy, an exploration of movement and form.

Identity changes; everything changes. You recall that wanting to play horsey when you were a little kid? That make-believe is what existence is all about.Are our bodies central to who we are, given that our bodies change and blossom and decay?

Reminds me of books on art such as those by Eleanor Davis, and then (also) sketchy philosophical comics such as Anders Nilsen's Big Questions of Dog's and Water. Movies such as Waking Life.

She kinda summarizes the whole book near the end, so don't read this last part if want to be surprised as you read it:

"It's the essence of being human
Filled with secrets, abstractions,
Wanting and longing
Tension and release
Unknown and known
Flimsy thoughts
Flickering, wavering feelings
A center that shifts and explodes

And all these questions are embodied in the artwork, the play of forms and movement. Pretty cool.

[Megan Kirby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was utterly charmed by this bizarre journey through the creative process that reminded me of Tove Jansson, Calvin & Hobbes, The Phantom Tollbooth, and a big tumbling bundle of other lovely and formative fantasies. The cartoon-collage effects--and occasional forays into sculpture--made this unlike anything I've ever read. I'm psyched to reread, and so happy to add it to my shelf.

[Stella poopypants · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cute, beautiful art, kinda trippy, would def recommend for a quick noodly read

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really respect Wallander's voice and vision and art and the production on this book is very pretty, but ultimately I prefer reading her philosophic musings in shorter form comics, such as "Remember This" (kus minicomic #29). This is good work that I would recommend to certain people but it's just not up my street.

[rachel ~ trans rights are human rights · Rating 4 out of 5]

such an incredible and ingenious mix of media! drawings and stones and ceramics and glitter and big questions.

[lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is such an awesomely funny and silly book. i had so much fun reading this!!!! because it is a graphic novel i finished it quite fast but i also believe that this is the kind of book that i could read every few weeks or months, and which i am looking forward to doing.

the format of illustrations are so so so so awesome. i love love love the stupid horses. i love that none of the characters have names. from an art and mixed media perspective the mixed media stuff was really really fantastic. not just aesthetically pleasing to look at, but served the function of the "story", if there even was a story.

i really liked that the whole book is just silly guys doing ambiguous activities that are about the futility and fragility of life. what a fun concept. the last few pages were really startlingly moving, and really quite something.

overall great!!!! no notes!!!!!! highly recommend, and i hope i get to read wallander's other book.

[Natalie Park · Rating 3 out of 5]

My niece suggested that I read this graphic novel. It was a quick read as it was mainly visual with not a lot of words. I loved the author’s used of collage and a mix of mediums - ink, paint, found items, ceramics. It had an air of whimsy and existentialism all mixed together.

[Andreas Mars · Rating 5 out of 5]

I sin första längre sammanhållna seriebok Becoming Horses, utgiven på kanadensiska förlaget Drawn & Quarterly, visar Disa Wallander både upp en briljant palett av olika uttrycksmedel och en alldeles bedårande berättelse kryddad med melankoli och en stor portion humor om existensiella funderingar under ständig förändring som tvingar läsaren att se på världen med nya ögon.

Här får vi följa tre icke namngivna karaktärer – som dykt upp i tidigare verk av Disa, såsom Slowly Dying och The Nature of Nature – på en filosofisk upptäcksfärd där de var för sig eller tillsammans stiftar bekantskap med en rad excentriska kvinnliga konstnärer och levnadskonstnär som guidar dem på resan. Vi får bland annat möta en kvinna som byggt en replika av sin livmoder stor som ett litet hus, en annan som är en ö och lever på besökare för att få inspiration, en grupp kvinnor som samlas för att gråta tillsammans och några som beslutat sig för att försöka förvandla sig till hästar, vilket också givit namn åt boken.

Denna märkliga men mycket levande och kärleksfulla mix av knas kontra filosofiska kringelikrokar är magisk. Särskilt gillar jag stämningen som antingen har drag av den melankoli man kan hitta i Charles Schulzs Snobben eller den torra humorn i Tove Janssons Mumin men Becoming Horses har även klara likheter med Eleanor Davis fenomenala verk Why Art? som också ställer liknande frågor om konsten och livet.

Becoming Horses är en fantastisk bok som visar att det inte finns några absoluta sanningar när det gäller livets stora frågor men att det är värt besväret att åtminstone ge sig ut på upptäcksfärd, eller som Robert Broberg uttryckte det: ”Målet är ingenting – vägen är allt”.

[rachel weisz as evelyn o'connell in the mummy (1999) · Rating 5 out of 5]

as someone who often dreams that i've become an animal (in my case, usually a cheetah, although i would love to dream of being a horse as well) and as a human being in general, this was a lovely read. especially since i'm also currently reading nightbitch by rachel yoder, in which the main character transforms into a dog. it all feels interconnected and that's because it is! we're all animals babey! there's a wildness in all of us and i love the different images, forms, colors and textures the author uses to encapsulate that in this book

[Kate Atherton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I said aloud to myself after reading this book “this is one of my favorite books”. Tove Jansson-esque characters float in a world of photo collage, aura and gem stones, contemplating their place in the world, where they are in their own minds and what the characters they encounter can add to or diminish about their views. This book is “through the looking glass” told in sketch and clay, it’s quick and easy but the DEEPEST quick and easy read imaginable. I would recommend it to anyone.

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weird. About art/yourself/expression, etc.
Author's bio: "In her early 20's she read some philosophy books that suggested nothing was real and ever since then she has made comics with the compulsion to affirm the existence of the world inside her head."
I kind of feel like I just wasted 20 minutes of my life...

[Mari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Existentiell och vacker. Ett collage av färger och färger.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

so silly and absurd and yet so true! loved loved loved this

[Becky Brugge-Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

An abstract story about the human experience.

[Salty Swift · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trippy and highly striking graphic novel that focuses on mixed media approach rather than any coherent message.

[Hannah Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

borrowed this book from the library. the art made me wanna fall into the pages when i flipped through it. breezed through it. couldn’t put it down. i think i need to read it again and again and again and again. and then i need to return it to the library and buy myself a copy. and then read it again. then i’m gonna pass it along to all my friends and convince them to read it (maybe they’ll even like it enough to read it again and again and again)

[Mary Montgomery · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the mixed media aspect of this book was interesting and I really enjoyed the forms / objects / sculpture / 3D shapes / photography collages that made up some background and foreground objects and how they freely interacted with these simple line drawn comic figures and seemingly how these background objects and colors informed the mood of the encounter on the page.

There was an overarching story about becoming horses, but it was a philosophical comic on the journey you take, and your path to finding your own identity and sense of self, and probably other things I didn’t get from it because I don’t have a knack for understanding philosophy.

Overall, I did like this book and it might be one I pick up again, maybe more for inspo about meshing 3D and 2D in different ways rather than rereading the story, but I did like it. Took me a bit to get through though, it wasn’t something I was fiending to finish in one sitting or anything. Some of the encounters of the book were relatable and neat, like when the sad person invited one of the main characters to the group-cry and then said ‘oh, you’re really good at this’, I felt that.

[Dan Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would lying if I said I knew exactly what this book was trying to say and the mostly do to the fact it is not designed to have one answer to that question. What is clear is that this works to bring you back to a place of childhood wonderment.

One where you experience the world in a way so that not everything is clear but you are in awe of the journey you are undertaking. The use of different artistic mediums within the art directs that feeling. From photography to classic cartooning different words collide.

I also get the sense this is speaking to the creative process and how ideas operate within one's mind. How they grow and evolve based on life experience. Lack of clarity does drive some crazy so if that is you this book could become a chore.

There is also the risk of putting more into than is really there. But if you are open and willing to allow yourself to wonder in thought there is much to appreciate

[Ryan Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grabbed this as a quick read while sitting at Harold Washington (my bias library) and it was absolutely delightful. The visuals are out of this world with the incorporation of real objects and textures; and the dialogue made me laugh so much. The setting, although unnameable, is a place so familiar to us all. Disa Wallander so impressively articulates the ever coexisting complexity + simplicity of the human experience.
“Things that gave you joy in the way that you felt it could break you”
I would love to be the interior decorator at the “inside-a-body experience”. Another favorite part is when they’re going along with the flow and one of the characters says “I’ll get off here thanks”.
Just a silly and serious perfect book :,) my heart feels fuzzy. I hope to read Wallander’s other work soon

[Always Becominging · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hypnotic graphic novel and meditation on identity. I was pulled through it very quickly. The combination of rough hand drawn figures and neon multimedia landscapes works impressively and creates a dreamlike, Waking Life-esque fugue. I was also really impressed by the writing. I found the dialogue very compelling and relatable. Wallander explores ideas of identity that I’m very interested in. Keen to read more of her work.

[Bec Daniels · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book and we are all horses

[Ellinor Richey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely style! And I was curious to read the comic since the author also went with a friend of mine at an art school together.

The comic was a little too abstract in its narrative for me, though. I wished I had felt more differently from start to end, to have felt like I had been through a philosophical journey of some kind. But I felt like I was where I started, a little intrigued but also confused.

[Sucre · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

this was a surreal yet charming journey, mainly about the creative process and how an artist views themself during it. this is one to not just read in one go but to flip back through and appreciate the mix of mediums used in the backgrounds. there's so many elements to look at and i really enjoyed how textured everything felt. just a really neat lil comic!

[Joseph Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite textured artsy book. I was initially turned off by the pen on watercolor format, but it became better and more a story of an artist in an abstract sense. Parts made me laugh out loud, while others did not land and felt trite. I'd flip quickly through the book if it looks like it's for you, before reading fully.

[Blue · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surreal, fantastical, beautiful trip into self and discovery. There's certainly a story and a journey here, but the art...by, the art is etherial and captivating and beautiful. Each page is a piece of art.

[Dalia :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

IF U EVER SEE THIS BOOK READ IT!!!! I loved every page and the art style was so captivating. Reading this felt like taking mushrooms, playing with glitter and feeling that everything is okay. 10/10 im going to buy this book holy moly

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completely loved this. A meditation on emotions and the uncertainty and uncontrollable nature of the human existence.

[Robin]

A bit too dreamy for my liking, but some of the art is fun.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't get it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Des'Ree · Rating 4 out of 5]

V unique combination of drawn and tactile art pieces. Not sure of the exact messaging but was a feel-good read.