‘Desolation Wilderness’ by Claire Scully

‘Desolation Wilderness’

Created by Claire Scully.

32 full colour pages printed on Tintoretto Gesso stock, 102mm x 152mm.

£7.99.

‘A sequence of events occurring over a period of time in search for a location in space.’

The first thing that you will ask yourself upon reading this is if it is a comic?

I did.

I then asked myself why I was worried?

I’m now not in any way concerned. A category isn’t something I am bothered about. I’ll let people argue about that modern and inconsequential distinction elsewhere and out of my earshot.

This is an experiment, the second similar project from Claire Scully and Avery Hill that I have seen, in format and content and style. 

A review is of course subjective. You have been warned.

I found that it passed a few minutes and the rocky outcroppings, sharply green trees, little distant stone houses, wide open skies, sudden and cheeky lizards, crystalline structures, hills, rocks, stars, reflections and more were something calming, ephemeral and passingly beautiful. It is a view from a country house window or on a car journey or from a boat but exaggerated and tinkered with to make something slightly alien and strange to the eye.

There are no car chases, there are no real people, there are no punch ups and no flagrant nudity. So don’t come moaning to me if that’s what you were after. Keep walking.... 

There is a short and enigmatic description in the back matter that I will not ruin. The art and the series of landscapes here really speaks for itself anyway.

I’ll admit that it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. In certain views it may be seen as slight and just a little indulgent. In my view it is both but in a way that I sweep aside quickly when I see the gorgeous scenery and flat colours Claire employs. You might also presuppose that it came from a doodle. I can guess at that although I have no insider knowledge to confirm or deny this. But that’s no reason to not love what you have here.

Isn’t a little bit of art worth a truck load of everything else?

I would love to see this on a much larger scale and in my opinion it deserves that treatment. Come on Avery People what you waiting for? For now I’ll have to put up with grabbing one of the prints available with this smaller format release. (Just like this.)

I would argue however that this is slightly overpriced for what you get though. 

Avery Hill continue to push the boundaries of comics and lead the way in the UK and beyond. I’m chuffed that they are out there doing this sort of thing. You can grab a copy here https://averyhillpublishing.bigcartel.com/product/desolation-wilderness-a4-print-pre-sale and follow Avery Hill on Twitter @AveryHillPubl

You can find Claire Scully over at http://www.clairescully.com/ and follow her on Twitter @ClaireScully

Many thanks for reading.