Follow Me In.
Created by Kat Chapman.
Published by Avery Hill.
248 pages - Full Colour - Hardcover.
£18.99.
The Story - ‘Kat had no responsibilities and nothing to tie her down. But she had graduated university with no plans. She was an artist who hadn’t drawn in five years. She was lost.
What’s more, she’d been avoiding admitting to herself something that all of those around her knew; that her boyfriend, Richard, had some serious problems with alcohol.
Looking for a fresh start, the two of them quit their jobs and embarked on a journey to Mexico for what what they expected to be an adventure of a lifetime. It led to experiences that changed both of their lives and to Kat rediscovering a love of art, a lifelong attachment to Mexico and the strength to move on.’
The Review - As this autobiographical comic opens you see a solitary Kat Chapman looking at her watch and towering above her is the clock tower at the front of Kings Cross. A building that in a strange coincidence is about a hundred yards from where I read this outstanding book. She then meets a man, Richard, who you realise is her ex partner and that what is about to take place is an awkward at first and highly personal meeting and conversation between two people who have a history.
Kat asks Richard his permission to use a trip they were on years previously as the basis of a comic she is creating. Surprisingly he agrees and the tone of the meeting softens.
As I read I am struck with a number of feelings immediately in this the opening prologue. The creator shows their thoughtfulness and also their ability to direct this medium by using such a scene as the opener. It does a number of things that are clever. It straightaway gives you a sense of empathy with the players and also poses a number of questions for the story that will you expect to follow. What happened on this trip? Will we find out why they seem distant now? Will we find out what split them up?
I am reminded by something I heard as good advice years ago. ‘Always have a good way in to your story.’ And in accomplishing this Kat creates an environment and characters who grab your attention. You care from word one what will happen to who and why.
OK Kat Chapman. You’ve got me here, let’s see what happens next.
Almost immediately Kat changes gears. You are thrown from a measured and emotional scene between two people into the faces and landscapes of another country, another continent far removed from London. Mexico, a place that seems bright and dusty and magical and just a little bit out of our comfort zone. As a change from the greys of central London this is a little visual poke telling you to sit up and pay attention.
In fact the next scene opens on a village nestling in the valley of golden brown roofs and greenery. Kat is worried, Richard is missing and they are due to catch a coach anytime soon to a tour of local villages and islands on The Day of the Dead Festival. The worry plays on her face and in her thoughts. He eventually turns up and you realise that he is drunk. They continue on their coach tour she is embarrassed and he is throwing up against a house in view of the others in the street. You feel the clash of worlds, the beauty of Mexico at night against a man, a tourist, drunk and sick in the street.
The holiday makers get into a boat and row slowly out to an island. In a touchingly captured moment Kat reaches into the water and sweeps it with her hand. She grabs that moment and escapes from everything else that is happening. A really lovely moment.
Kat then pulls you back in time again to the flight and arrival in Mexico. Tired travellers eventually find their hotel and sleep. Kat wakes early and decides to grab the moment and begin drawing again, a pastime she hadn’t touched for sometime. She draws a local building and tells herself that at least she has started. It was cool to see that this, the actual drawing, was then in the book. This is a common technique that the creator uses throughout. These little extracts of her sketch book really add to the setting and feel of this narrative.
We follow the couple as they stay mainly in each other’s company but do on occasion connect with others. We see cities, and towns and ruins and forests and wildlife. All done with the conversation between the pair and Kat’s narration of their trip. This is an autobiographical comic that also works as a pretty useful travel guide. I learnt a lot about the country. We get illustrated pages on all subjects involving Mexico. How to get about, festivals, what to eat and what not to eat, history, maps and more. A lot of the dialogue is in Spanish without translation, after all who has a handy subtitle running along reality...?
When I started this review/preview I thought that I would examine the story as it’s beats hit for the whole of it’s length. But after the first pass through it’s pages I decided to just let the book do the talking. I’ve described above the initial sections and scenes and these hopefully will give you an idea of tone but you need to examine this for yourself. You need to walk in the footsteps of this couple, at least through the medium of comics.
I have a feeling that this may win a few awards.
I am again struck by the sentiment that we spend our days and our art attempting to capture a moment. A feeling that can be put on a page or a screen and that projects out into the minds and hearts of the readers. I came away from this book moved, genuinely. It’s not just the grandeur of Mexico that hits you, and it hits you hard, but it is also the complexities of the relationships on show here.
Let’s be fair here. Kat doesn’t paint Richard as a pantomime villain in the slightest. The pair share some genuinely romantic moments. But he also drinks, he is an alcoholic. The reality of this fact comes to a strong realisation during this trip and is dealt with honestly and with a reality in both the art and the dialogue.
‘A gamble. But I’ve just run out of energy.’
Moments are fatalistically poignant, especially where Kat confides in a man she meets on the road. You can see how nervous she is when she discloses this very private matter.
This is a book of so many themes and subjects. Informative and at once also especially personal. It is a book that I have read as a digital preview but will go back and purchase it as a hardcover and enjoy all over again.
This is a book that will also want you to go on holiday. (It also goes to show the usefulness of keeping a diary and/or sketchbook. A lesson to us all.)
A good piece of art reinterprets life in some way and then communicates. This journey takes place in all sorts of ways. Kat has allowed the reader to breathe in her journey. It will entrance you. This is a conversation on many things. It is most importantly a document on life and its full opportunities and love of living in that memory.
I know I am prone to enthusiasm and hyperbole but this is without a doubt in the running for my personal book of the year.
But Kat! That dog!
You can grab a copy by heading to www.averyhillpublishing.bigcartel.com or follow them on Twitter @AveryHillPubl
Find out more about the creator and find some more examples of her comics, art and travels at www.katrionachapman.com and follow her on Twitter @katchapman
Many thanks for reading.
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