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Lose #2-5
A Body Beneath: Collecting Issues of the Comic Book Series "Lose"
A Body Beneath collects issues two through five of Michael DeForge's multi-award winning anthology Lose. DeForge's singular vision reveals the menace in the mundane, the humor in the horrific. He has crafted a phantasmagoria of stories that feature a spider-infested pet horse head, post-apocalyptic dogs dealing with existential angst, the romantic undertones of a hired hit, and more.
152 pages, Paperback
First published April 23, 2014
4 people are currently reading
324 people want to read
About the author
Michael DeForge
69 books415 followersMichael DeForge lives in Toronto, Ontario. His comics and illustrations have been featured in Jacobin, The New York Times, Bloomberg, The Believer, The Walrus and Maisonneuve Magazine. He worked as a designer on Adventure Time for six seasons. His published books include Very Casual, A Body Beneath, Ant Colony, First Year Healthy, Dressing, Big Kids, Sticks Angelica, Folk Hero and A Western World.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
January 8, 2016
Life is Disgusting
(OR Life is the Filth, Death is the Janitor :-P)
'A Body Beneath' collects issues 2 - 5 of Michael DeForge's comic 'Lose', with the first issue deliberately omitted by the artist due to harsh self-criticism (a trait that puts him in good company... R. Crumb, Daniel Clowes and Chris Ware have all suffered from paralyzing self-doubt, a temporary weakness that is usually overcome by a deep-seated misanthropy). While I think the constant reassessment that existing in a super-position of humility and narcissism is integral to the rapid evolution of Deforge's storytelling, I don't agree with the dismissal of his earlier work (yes, there will be a bit of dry, pretentious-sounding blather -- you have been warned). I like the fucked-up, hyper-detailed mess of writhing lines that used to define his style... but I also like where his art is at now.
His style has become leaner and simpler, and yeah, it's a sign he's maturing, growing more confident. Simplicity isn't easy. "Looking at the oldest work in this collection is already a little mortifying," he remarks in the introductory story, 'Context'. He mentions 'Dogs 2070' and 'It's Chip' as specific examples of 'sloppy writing' and 'lousy try-hard drawing'. But I still think the intricately detailed art that he's moved away from in his most recent work -- 'Ant Colony', 'First Year Healthy' and the upcoming 'Big Kids' -- is far from pointless.
'It's Chip', from 'A Body Beneath':
The microscopic parasites, bacterial infections and horrific transformations that are recurring motifs are expressed vividly in the dripping, writhing details of 'It's Chip' and 'Dogs 2070' (see below). A disgust with the functions and failures of the human body, a revulsion that violently rejects ideas of beauty or divine authorship when confronted with organic processes -- birth, predation, digestion, infection and decomposition -- no other cartoonist has been able to communicate this existential horror so effectively, with the possible exception of Renee French.
Wallowing in it -- 'It's Chip' and 'Dogs 2070':
This 150-or-so page volume released by Koyama makes it clear why critics get crazy and start firing off hyperbole like a Gatling gun, praising this young artist (really truly young-ish, not yet 30... for Cartoonists and Novelists, young means under 45). His style of storytelling has very few precedents, and the line-work is surprisingly anomalous; his closest stylistic relatives are fellow Canadians Jesse Jacobs, Luke Ramsey, Dsve Cooper, Julie Doucet and Marc Bell... Bell in particular. There's also hints that the early work of Renee French -- collected in the Oni book 'Marbles In My Underpants' -- was influential to a certain extent.
DeForge is one of the most prolific cartoonists working today, with 'A Body Beneath' coming just a few months after 'Ant Colony', which was a beautiful, disgusting and occasionally poignant work. His Cronenberg-like obsession with bodily functions and failures, disease and decomposition, is also on display in 'Very Casual', which collects the stories that have appeared outside the pages of 'Lose', like 'The Spotting Deer', and his strip 'Titters' (which appears in 'The Believer' on its excellent comic page, alongside Charles Burns and Matt Furie).
'Lose' has been DeForge's primary creative outlet, however, and while 'Very Casual' and 'Ant Colony' are both brilliant, 'A Body Beneath' is probably the best place to start for anyone new to the art of Michael Deforge. Considering that his career began in earnest just five years ago, the fact thay he now has two collections published by Koyama and a hardcover graphic novel published by Drawn and Quarterly is very impressive. Sequential Art, particularly for writer-artists who work without deadlines (for the most part), can be a slow, laborious, and isolating profession. Many cartoonists end up working and reworking pages, scrapping stories partway through, or (as was the case for 'Lose' No.1) disavowing entire issues and pretending -- or wishing -- they didn't exist. DeForge has weathered the insecurities well, to become one of the most important artist of his generation.
From 'First Year Healthy':
More Art-book Reviews
More Comic-book Reviews
More Novel Reviews
A Mysterious Review Related to the Book in Question, But Written By A Friend Instead
and
Yet Another Mysterious Review Related to the Book in Question, But Written By A Friend Instead
(OR Life is the Filth, Death is the Janitor :-P)
'A Body Beneath' collects issues 2 - 5 of Michael DeForge's comic 'Lose', with the first issue deliberately omitted by the artist due to harsh self-criticism (a trait that puts him in good company... R. Crumb, Daniel Clowes and Chris Ware have all suffered from paralyzing self-doubt, a temporary weakness that is usually overcome by a deep-seated misanthropy). While I think the constant reassessment that existing in a super-position of humility and narcissism is integral to the rapid evolution of Deforge's storytelling, I don't agree with the dismissal of his earlier work (yes, there will be a bit of dry, pretentious-sounding blather -- you have been warned). I like the fucked-up, hyper-detailed mess of writhing lines that used to define his style... but I also like where his art is at now.
His style has become leaner and simpler, and yeah, it's a sign he's maturing, growing more confident. Simplicity isn't easy. "Looking at the oldest work in this collection is already a little mortifying," he remarks in the introductory story, 'Context'. He mentions 'Dogs 2070' and 'It's Chip' as specific examples of 'sloppy writing' and 'lousy try-hard drawing'. But I still think the intricately detailed art that he's moved away from in his most recent work -- 'Ant Colony', 'First Year Healthy' and the upcoming 'Big Kids' -- is far from pointless.
'It's Chip', from 'A Body Beneath':
The microscopic parasites, bacterial infections and horrific transformations that are recurring motifs are expressed vividly in the dripping, writhing details of 'It's Chip' and 'Dogs 2070' (see below). A disgust with the functions and failures of the human body, a revulsion that violently rejects ideas of beauty or divine authorship when confronted with organic processes -- birth, predation, digestion, infection and decomposition -- no other cartoonist has been able to communicate this existential horror so effectively, with the possible exception of Renee French.
Wallowing in it -- 'It's Chip' and 'Dogs 2070':
This 150-or-so page volume released by Koyama makes it clear why critics get crazy and start firing off hyperbole like a Gatling gun, praising this young artist (really truly young-ish, not yet 30... for Cartoonists and Novelists, young means under 45). His style of storytelling has very few precedents, and the line-work is surprisingly anomalous; his closest stylistic relatives are fellow Canadians Jesse Jacobs, Luke Ramsey, Dsve Cooper, Julie Doucet and Marc Bell... Bell in particular. There's also hints that the early work of Renee French -- collected in the Oni book 'Marbles In My Underpants' -- was influential to a certain extent.
DeForge is one of the most prolific cartoonists working today, with 'A Body Beneath' coming just a few months after 'Ant Colony', which was a beautiful, disgusting and occasionally poignant work. His Cronenberg-like obsession with bodily functions and failures, disease and decomposition, is also on display in 'Very Casual', which collects the stories that have appeared outside the pages of 'Lose', like 'The Spotting Deer', and his strip 'Titters' (which appears in 'The Believer' on its excellent comic page, alongside Charles Burns and Matt Furie).
'Lose' has been DeForge's primary creative outlet, however, and while 'Very Casual' and 'Ant Colony' are both brilliant, 'A Body Beneath' is probably the best place to start for anyone new to the art of Michael Deforge. Considering that his career began in earnest just five years ago, the fact thay he now has two collections published by Koyama and a hardcover graphic novel published by Drawn and Quarterly is very impressive. Sequential Art, particularly for writer-artists who work without deadlines (for the most part), can be a slow, laborious, and isolating profession. Many cartoonists end up working and reworking pages, scrapping stories partway through, or (as was the case for 'Lose' No.1) disavowing entire issues and pretending -- or wishing -- they didn't exist. DeForge has weathered the insecurities well, to become one of the most important artist of his generation.
From 'First Year Healthy':
More Art-book Reviews
More Comic-book Reviews
More Novel Reviews
A Mysterious Review Related to the Book in Question, But Written By A Friend Instead
and
Yet Another Mysterious Review Related to the Book in Question, But Written By A Friend Instead
July 15, 2015
Wow! I had read good things about Michael DeForge’s one-man anthology Lose, but I did not expect to stumble upon the most exciting alternative comic-book series since Chris Ware’s Acme Novelty Library. Issues 2-5 are now collected in A Body Beneath, with the first issue unfortunately missing because it is, in the words of DeForge himself, “a very bad comic book.” Needless to say, I find that hard to believe. To be sure, DeForge is still in the process of developing his creative voice throughout A Body Beneath, but even the earliest strips collected here are fascinating in weird, unexpected, subversive, disturbing, and often quite funny ways. One of these early efforts, “Dog 2070,” shows some Chris Ware influence, other strips bring to mind the fearless, taboo-breaking spirit of Chester Brown’s Yummy Fur or the sharp, closely-observed, revealing wit of Daniel Clowes’ Eightball (as well as Eightball's initial juxtaposition of satire and surrealism). Seriously, if you have any interest at all in alternative comics, you owe it to yourself to check out the extremely talented Michael DeForge.
February 6, 2016
"Striking, funny, disturbing, beautiful, original" claims the blurb on the back cover. Well, yes and no. DeForge himself admits that the earlier works included here (and the even earlier works not included) were weaker material.
But, at first, I was disinclined to agree. I really enjoyed the comic "It's Chip," with its morbid and surreal exploration of bullying and acceptance . . . of a sort (Important safety tip: do NOT read this to your child, or they will come out as warped as my children did after reading Dante's Inferno to them at a young age . . . unless you, like me, prefer warped children who grow up into warped adults. "Welcome to the fold, kid!").
But, like most collections of short stories - whether text or graphic - things get "uneven," as they tactfully say, as it goes along. That's not to say that any of the stories are really bad, none of them are. But with many, I had the same feeling I had when reading Clowes' The Death-Ray: "What's the hype? Why all the aloofness? You really think you're cool and condescending, don't you?" Truth is: I'm not a hipster. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
I tended to like the shorter to mid-length pieces in this collection, but one of the longer ones stood out: "Living Outdoors," a psychedelic trip through, among other things, psychedelic trips. But the work also explores the complexity of relationships and associated emotions. It's the kind of story that sticks in the cranium after the end in a way that many of the other stories didn't.
My favorite, though, was "Recent Hires," the tale of a self-abusing worm of a man who goes to desperate measures to elicit sympathy from women he likes. A strange, pitiful, very funny tale that is one of the more "straightforward" comics of the bunch. Still evocatively drawn, but with a tighter plot than most of the other pieces in the volume.
As I've said earlier, there are no poor pieces in the volume. Just a couple that I found really boring. I'm sure I was missing the point. I just don't get the hipster "vibe". Maybe I'm a hipster because of that. I'm not cool enough to know.
But, at first, I was disinclined to agree. I really enjoyed the comic "It's Chip," with its morbid and surreal exploration of bullying and acceptance . . . of a sort (Important safety tip: do NOT read this to your child, or they will come out as warped as my children did after reading Dante's Inferno to them at a young age . . . unless you, like me, prefer warped children who grow up into warped adults. "Welcome to the fold, kid!").
But, like most collections of short stories - whether text or graphic - things get "uneven," as they tactfully say, as it goes along. That's not to say that any of the stories are really bad, none of them are. But with many, I had the same feeling I had when reading Clowes' The Death-Ray: "What's the hype? Why all the aloofness? You really think you're cool and condescending, don't you?" Truth is: I'm not a hipster. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
I tended to like the shorter to mid-length pieces in this collection, but one of the longer ones stood out: "Living Outdoors," a psychedelic trip through, among other things, psychedelic trips. But the work also explores the complexity of relationships and associated emotions. It's the kind of story that sticks in the cranium after the end in a way that many of the other stories didn't.
My favorite, though, was "Recent Hires," the tale of a self-abusing worm of a man who goes to desperate measures to elicit sympathy from women he likes. A strange, pitiful, very funny tale that is one of the more "straightforward" comics of the bunch. Still evocatively drawn, but with a tighter plot than most of the other pieces in the volume.
As I've said earlier, there are no poor pieces in the volume. Just a couple that I found really boring. I'm sure I was missing the point. I just don't get the hipster "vibe". Maybe I'm a hipster because of that. I'm not cool enough to know.
October 18, 2015
This is a collection of most of DeForge's Lose comics. These are decidedly alternative comics, weird, sometimes puzzling, as one would expect from alt-comics, but they are rarely disturbing. There's real warmth and humor that run through most of these short stories. I had read one of these volumes before, and I liked his work in it but hadn't completely figured out what I thought of the guy. That's sort of the nature of alt-comics, I think. You have to see if you can "get" the work on some level, and sometimes it takes time. Alt comics {and/or art comics} create a completely different world, sometimes surreal. Odd. Much of this is coming of age and always surprising, and I guess I would say usually surreal.
In this beautifully done collection, you get to see patterns, though as he says himself, they are individual volumes that don't really connect with each other in any obvious ways. I found myself increasingly liking this work, and am now completely a fan. Great stuff in the tradition of Jim Woodring, Crumb, so many doing alternative and art comics, but he is really interesting.
Read first in November 2014 and again in April 2015.
In this beautifully done collection, you get to see patterns, though as he says himself, they are individual volumes that don't really connect with each other in any obvious ways. I found myself increasingly liking this work, and am now completely a fan. Great stuff in the tradition of Jim Woodring, Crumb, so many doing alternative and art comics, but he is really interesting.
Read first in November 2014 and again in April 2015.
Read
December 3, 2014One of the oft-mentioned benefits of reading is: it puts the reader into another person’s shoes.
When reading Michael DeForge’s books, I always am reminded that some people have very, very different shoes. The inside of his brain must be a fascinating place to be – and it’s an engrossing experience to realize that your mind works so differently than someone else’s.
When reading Michael DeForge’s books, I always am reminded that some people have very, very different shoes. The inside of his brain must be a fascinating place to be – and it’s an engrossing experience to realize that your mind works so differently than someone else’s.
December 5, 2020
In interviews, Michael DeForge describes his way of making comics as improvisational, admitting that he plans very little in advance. This certainly explains a lot about Ant Colony (the only work of his that I'd read before A Body Beneath): it's a single narrative that stretches across more than 100 pages, but it was originally released online, one page at a time as it was being written, and it feels episodic, its overarching plot meandering and somewhat directionless. As much as I like Ant Colony, A Body Beneath demonstrates that DeForge's approach is best suited to shorter-form work.
A Body Beneath collects material from issues #2-5 of Lose, the one-man anthology that launched DeForge's career. In total, this collection contains 17 self-contained strips, ranging in length from 1 to 39 pages. Unconstrained by the requirements of long-term plotting or character arcs, DeForge's wild imagination and existential acuity can really shine. All of the strips here are undoubtedly expressive of DeForge's inner life, reflecting his anxieties and neuroses, as well as his impressions of the world around him. Some of the strips are pure surrealism, embodying emotions and ideas in a raw, abstract way that's hard to put into words. For example, the 3-page Improv Night basically just depicts a strange, nonsensical series of events – it could easily just be interpreted as "hey, look at this weird thing I drew", intended to elicit nothing more than confused laughter. To my mind, however, the strip is infused with an existential dread that gives it a value far beyond that of an amusing oddity. Not everything here is as opaque as that, though. In fact, my favourite comics in the collection are the ones that are a bit more straightforward, with more intelligible plots and more fleshed out characters. The 20-page Dogs 2070 stands out in this regard: a black humour strip about the life of a pathetic, lonely, self-centred divorcee, full of moments that make me want to laugh and cry simultaneously. Another particularly noteworthy strip is the 39-page Living Outside: a comic about adolescence that's all too believable, despite its surreal elements.
A Body Beneath is also great visually. After having read the vibrantly coloured Ant Colony, it's really interesting to see DeForge working in black and white. He experiments with different styles in different strips, and some of the drawings here are a lot more detailed than anything else I've seen by him, though it all shares a highly stylized, cartoony sensibility. Impressively, he manages to give each comic here its own distinct look, while maintaining a consistent and recognizable artistic voice.
This is a fairly full-on, unbridled example of a particular type of "alternative comics". It's probably less accessible than Ant Colony - and it certainly has less mass appeal than the more well known works associated with the "alt comics" label - but it's a must-read for anyone with a taste for pitch-black humour, surrealism, psychedelia and unhealthy doses of existential angst.
A Body Beneath collects material from issues #2-5 of Lose, the one-man anthology that launched DeForge's career. In total, this collection contains 17 self-contained strips, ranging in length from 1 to 39 pages. Unconstrained by the requirements of long-term plotting or character arcs, DeForge's wild imagination and existential acuity can really shine. All of the strips here are undoubtedly expressive of DeForge's inner life, reflecting his anxieties and neuroses, as well as his impressions of the world around him. Some of the strips are pure surrealism, embodying emotions and ideas in a raw, abstract way that's hard to put into words. For example, the 3-page Improv Night basically just depicts a strange, nonsensical series of events – it could easily just be interpreted as "hey, look at this weird thing I drew", intended to elicit nothing more than confused laughter. To my mind, however, the strip is infused with an existential dread that gives it a value far beyond that of an amusing oddity. Not everything here is as opaque as that, though. In fact, my favourite comics in the collection are the ones that are a bit more straightforward, with more intelligible plots and more fleshed out characters. The 20-page Dogs 2070 stands out in this regard: a black humour strip about the life of a pathetic, lonely, self-centred divorcee, full of moments that make me want to laugh and cry simultaneously. Another particularly noteworthy strip is the 39-page Living Outside: a comic about adolescence that's all too believable, despite its surreal elements.
A Body Beneath is also great visually. After having read the vibrantly coloured Ant Colony, it's really interesting to see DeForge working in black and white. He experiments with different styles in different strips, and some of the drawings here are a lot more detailed than anything else I've seen by him, though it all shares a highly stylized, cartoony sensibility. Impressively, he manages to give each comic here its own distinct look, while maintaining a consistent and recognizable artistic voice.
This is a fairly full-on, unbridled example of a particular type of "alternative comics". It's probably less accessible than Ant Colony - and it certainly has less mass appeal than the more well known works associated with the "alt comics" label - but it's a must-read for anyone with a taste for pitch-black humour, surrealism, psychedelia and unhealthy doses of existential angst.
December 17, 2022
This compilation of 4 collections of DeForge's comic 'Lose', is eclectic, but widely varying in quality, which even he apologizes for in an introduction!
May 1, 2015
DeForge's Lose has been one of those series that I've been meaning to check out for awhile, so I'm glad that A Body Beneath was released last year, making it easy for me to get caught up. My experience with DeForge has been occasional anthologies or selected stories here and there, but this was a much more satisfying experience, taking in his writing all at once. In his introduction to the book, the author wonders whether or not reading everything in one volume like this is the best way to take in his comics. I'm not certain that it's the best way, but I do know that A Body Beneath worked for me. He's done work for Drawn and Quarterly, but DeForge is one of the artist (along with Jesse Jacobs) that define Koyama Press best for me.
June 3, 2016
Well, this weirdness was brilliant. I will definitely be seeking out more Michael DeForge. A lot more. 5 stars and best reads pile. Great stuff.
May 5, 2019
Michael DeForge will always be an illustrator that viscerally impacts my state of being. His art is dark, twisted, and unsettling, all in the most creative and trippy ways as possible. There is an incredible amount of thought going on behind these comics. The psychology of this collection alone is deeply and hauntingly fascinating. I'm going to channel a bit of Alex DeLarge and say that this is a real horrorshow.
August 7, 2017
Like all of DeForge work I love this strange book
January 9, 2015
Lose /looz/
verb
1. be deprived of or cease to have or retain (something).
2. become unable to find (something or someone.)
3. fail to win (a game or contest).
4. earn less (money) than one is spending or has spent.
A Body Beneath collects DeForge's series of short comics, Lose #2-5. As one might expect many of the comics explore themes of loss. All with Deforge's...and here I pause once again. I was going to say grotesque, but then felt it couldn't encompass what I meant, since although I was disturbed, I was also drawn into the artwork. So I went back to the dictionary and found a wikipedia entry that helpfully said, "grotesque may also refer to something that simultaneously invokes in an audience a feeling of uncomfortable bizarreness as well as empathic pity."
So, it turns out grotesque is the right term, in fact it conveys how I feel very well. As much as as I was disturbed by the events of Dogs 2070, I also empathized with and pitied the characters, even now I recall the feelings of peace during the gliding scene, only to be struck down in the midst of reverie by the cruel indignities of life. Or to suggest one's weird brother is a psycho only the receive a face fungus in return and even later discover that one's new best friend only wants to lay eggs in one's face and take over the world. Sigh.
I also really enjoyed the portrait of Canadian Royals. Sometimes I too feel as if I'm wearing a huge constrictive outfit which I cannot, under strict rules, take off. I'm sure we all feel that way at times.
When I looked up the meaning of the word "Lose" I was reminded of the things I lost, the times I failed and the drain of resources and time I can never get back. Luckily, A Body Beneath, though occasionally echoing those thoughts was not a loss, but a gain.
verb
1. be deprived of or cease to have or retain (something).
2. become unable to find (something or someone.)
3. fail to win (a game or contest).
4. earn less (money) than one is spending or has spent.
A Body Beneath collects DeForge's series of short comics, Lose #2-5. As one might expect many of the comics explore themes of loss. All with Deforge's...and here I pause once again. I was going to say grotesque, but then felt it couldn't encompass what I meant, since although I was disturbed, I was also drawn into the artwork. So I went back to the dictionary and found a wikipedia entry that helpfully said, "grotesque may also refer to something that simultaneously invokes in an audience a feeling of uncomfortable bizarreness as well as empathic pity."
So, it turns out grotesque is the right term, in fact it conveys how I feel very well. As much as as I was disturbed by the events of Dogs 2070, I also empathized with and pitied the characters, even now I recall the feelings of peace during the gliding scene, only to be struck down in the midst of reverie by the cruel indignities of life. Or to suggest one's weird brother is a psycho only the receive a face fungus in return and even later discover that one's new best friend only wants to lay eggs in one's face and take over the world. Sigh.
I also really enjoyed the portrait of Canadian Royals. Sometimes I too feel as if I'm wearing a huge constrictive outfit which I cannot, under strict rules, take off. I'm sure we all feel that way at times.
When I looked up the meaning of the word "Lose" I was reminded of the things I lost, the times I failed and the drain of resources and time I can never get back. Luckily, A Body Beneath, though occasionally echoing those thoughts was not a loss, but a gain.
December 1, 2024
This is such a great collection of short stories. Each story is funny, well drawn and has an interesting narrative that makes you laugh and think, which is an unusual combination. Personally, I really really liked the 3 page story called "Recent Hires" about a man who hires an assassin to assassinate him and the longer stories of "Dog 2070" and "Living Outdoors". Michael DeForge shows in this book that he is a versatile author capable of creating compelling stories with wide range of emotions and types of characters. Truly a great collection that is up there with the big names.
January 21, 2015
This collection's a bit of a mixed bag, but it's interesting to watch Deforge's progression over the course of the book. The older stories (as he himself admits) are a bit rough, but by issues 4 and 5 he really hits his stride. "Recent Hires" was definitely the standout for me.
May 13, 2019
Collected stories from four issues of DeForge's Lose series, we are presented with a great variety of work. DeForge consistently puts out some of the more interesting stuff in the comix world and I'm always happy to be along for the ride.
December 31, 2021
Kilka wczesnych zeszytów z serii "Lose" zebranych w jednym tomie. Rzecz ważna dla fanów i nie odstająca od pozostałych wydawnictw autora. Każdy kto zakochał się w odjechanej twórczości DeForge, musi przeczytać.
October 1, 2014
deforge is so good it's not even fair
July 18, 2018
Just wonderful. That's the best way to express it.
June 3, 2018
Dorothy Gale at the beginning of THE WIZARD OF OZ movie, is trapped in a black and white world she sees as so devoid of hope that she feels she must run away. As we realize later in the movie, all around her are the components of a world she fails to appreciate. It just hasn’t clicked for her yet. That’s how I felt about reading Michael Deforge’s A BODY BENEATH. A collection of his early works, I could see his talent but the material just wasn’t where I wanted it to be yet. There is evident growth as an artist and story teller as the collection progresses—the best stories (Recent Hires & Living Outdoors) were at the very end—but overall this is just not a good book. Having previously enjoyed—almost loved—Deforge’s later work ANT COLONY, this was particularly disappointing. Opening ANT COLONY again after reading A BODY BENEATH was like when Dorothy opened her door to see the Land of Oz for the first time. Not only is it quite literally moving from black and white to color, but ANT COLONY explodes with ideas and imagination lacking in Deforge’s earlier work. This reminded me of when I read Thomas Pynchon’s magnificent V and followed it up by reading a collection of his early short stories called SLOW LEARNER. Very disappointing but I could see that he had to work his way through the hum drum before reaching the magnificent. If you want to reach OZ, read ANT COLONY instead. If you have read ANT COLONY and still want to read this, go into it as an act of literary anthropology.
September 13, 2020
it's so hard to make comments about #MichaelDeforge's work considering how his creative direction had always been mostly original and almost a commentary to itself. so many young artists today especially those who choose to go the 'weird art' path are influenced by his contributions in Adventure Time, whether they're aware of it or not.
this book is a collection of his short comics from 'Lose' floppies # 2-5 (he didn't include vol.1 cause he hated his work in it). the blurb in the back describes his work as 'avant-garde comics' and that's definitely one way to put it. his designs are wild and deranged but there's always an insane amount of control to it. he is obsessed with geometrical forms as much as rounded corners and out of ordinary shapes.
the stories range from wow to meh but the greatness in Deforge's work here is more on the joys you get out of observing how he chooses to render familiar imagery; even the way he draws people are so beyond normal yet oddly plausible. there are recurring themes of anxiety and misunderstanding one's self leading to misunderstanding of the world around that self in the stories - these are perfect matches to the kind of visual language he communicates with. reading Deforge is always a trip.
read this if you're::
*into weird shit
*interested in the question: what more can comics do?
*looking to be that 'weird girl at the party'
#ABodyBeneath
this book is a collection of his short comics from 'Lose' floppies # 2-5 (he didn't include vol.1 cause he hated his work in it). the blurb in the back describes his work as 'avant-garde comics' and that's definitely one way to put it. his designs are wild and deranged but there's always an insane amount of control to it. he is obsessed with geometrical forms as much as rounded corners and out of ordinary shapes.
the stories range from wow to meh but the greatness in Deforge's work here is more on the joys you get out of observing how he chooses to render familiar imagery; even the way he draws people are so beyond normal yet oddly plausible. there are recurring themes of anxiety and misunderstanding one's self leading to misunderstanding of the world around that self in the stories - these are perfect matches to the kind of visual language he communicates with. reading Deforge is always a trip.
read this if you're::
*into weird shit
*interested in the question: what more can comics do?
*looking to be that 'weird girl at the party'
#ABodyBeneath
January 24, 2018
My third of three back-to-back encounters with DeForge, this was the one where I found more signs of "normality" while DeForge was also clearly wrestling with his own desires and goals, having admitted to scrapping the entire first volume of "Lose" as it was, by his own account, terrible. Clearly there's a restless picking away at wounds happening here that is, in turn, reflected in the types of stories and figures being composed. The narratives are delicate and grotesque in DeForge's characteristic style, but the figures feel more solid, grounded in their situations. Narratives end abruptly, which is frustrating to one type of reading, but the diversity here is beginning to be a strength and not, as in earlier works, a telling weakness of purpose.
That said, I began to lose interest toward the end of the collection as I found the later work less and less compelling: the line between the fascinatingly esoteric and the self-absorption of meaninglessness was (to my eyes) being crossed, although others will of course have different opinions.
There are more than a few homages in DeForge's work to the canon of comic books and graphic novels. Within that tradition, it's clear that he's writing himself in, albeit in a very self-deprecating Canadian way.
That said, I began to lose interest toward the end of the collection as I found the later work less and less compelling: the line between the fascinatingly esoteric and the self-absorption of meaninglessness was (to my eyes) being crossed, although others will of course have different opinions.
There are more than a few homages in DeForge's work to the canon of comic books and graphic novels. Within that tradition, it's clear that he's writing himself in, albeit in a very self-deprecating Canadian way.
December 18, 2018
Hier sind verschiedene, z.T. recht alte Short Comics von Michael DeForge aus seiner Anthologie -Reihe "Lose". Deshalb schwankt die (Zeichen)Qualität stark, was ich so bisher nicht von DeForge gewohnt war. Manche Stories sind völlig "überzeichnet" (overdrawn), also zu detailliert ausgearbeitet und lenken vom Inhalt ab. Trotzdem ist es interessant, die Entwicklung nachvollziehen zu können.
Mein Favorit: Living Outdoors.
Mein Favorit: Living Outdoors.
March 24, 2020
I have loved reading 1 comic each morning. They are so weird, so sad, sometimes funny, usually depressing. They always end so abruptly and jarringly, and you would think I would get used to the sudden endings but they still surprise me! The sugar glider dad story put me in a sadness funk the rest of the day. I loved the bdsm virus spikey syndrome story. Lots of good stuff
October 22, 2017
Weird and wonderful. DeForge combines fascinating art with funny stories and dreamlike scenarios to create worlds that are familiar yet oh so strange. Like reality. I love his work and am entertained and inspired by what he does.
April 16, 2018
crazy, and through-provoking. Very effective use of black and white drawings too!
April 17, 2020
reading this again. excellent example of deforge's evolution as an artist. living outdoors is a personal favourite
January 26, 2023
I honestly think he is the best cartoonist to ever do it
April 12, 2023
I liked the story about the kids who do drugs in the woods.
January 25, 2025
This was my first introduction to Michael DeForge years ago and I've pretty much reread it every year since.
January 16, 2020
I discuss this comic, among other works by Michael DeForge at Harris' Tome Corner, here.
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