The Organist
The New World
Where do speech balloons come from? How does time move from panel to panel? This week we explore the techniques of comic-book storytelling through Chris Reynolds’s graphic series, newly anthologized as The New World.
By Andrew Leland • • 36m ListenRecalling the experimental films of David Lynch or Andrei Tarkovsky, Chris Reynolds’s comic books, newly anthologized as The New World, confound his readers’ expectations at every turn. In these dream-like narratives, Reynolds twists the trope of a space-helmeted comic-book hero into an uncanny figure. Comic-book plotlines, including kidnappings and interplanetary travel, dissipate as the story shifts to focus instead on ominous silences, images of weirdly depopulated cityscapes, and the mysterious appearance of a massive Roman archway. On this episode of the Organist, the artist speaks with the novelist and critic Ed Park. We also hear reflections from the celebrated graphic novelist Seth, who edited and designed this new collection, interwoven with audio adaptations of some of the more beguiling stories from the book.
Produced by Angela Shackel and featuring the voices of Chris Reynolds, Seth, Ed Park, Kathryn Borel, Tomos Lewis, Teresa Morrow, and Isabel Sutton. Music by Luca. Sound effects and additional music from freesound.org.
Image credit: Chris Reynolds / New York Review Comics
