13 November 2024
Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá: What a Trip
I’ll be completely honest with you: I am not big into comics, having to date only read Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home and Are You My Mother? This was the first I’ve ever picked up a DC Comic, and I had no idea what to expect. But Moon and Bá’s book, Daytripper, was one recommended to me by my daughter, whose opinion in art I esteem. As per usual, she was right: Moon and Bá’s comic novel is complex, multilayered, and striking.
Although fiction, the story is written in hermit crab form, adopting throughout the genre of obituary (or obits, as our protagonist, Brás de Oliva Domingos, calls them). Brás is a newspaper obit writer, and through that form he explores the lives and associated deaths of artists, footballers, ambassadors, and most notably, his own father, a famous novelist. As he does, he examines the different potential paths of his own life and how those might inform different obituaries for his own death, at ages (in the order they appear) 32, 21, 28, 41, 11, 33, 38, 47, and 76.
Each obit for Brás reflects the life lived in that version of his story, and in the lead-up to each death, Moon and Bá give snapshots of those lives in tiny, big moments: failed loves, love at first sight, births, deaths, friendship, fantasy, relational ups and downs, etc. The intent, it seems, is to show that the greater masterpiece of a life is an artful composition, a collage or montage, of its smallest moments.
As for the art, of which I’ll provide a few photos here, it is gorgeous, vibrant, bold, and evocatively colorful. My only complaint about the artwork is that I got so caught up in Brás’s story that sometimes I turned pages too quickly and did not spend sufficient time appreciating the art. So, after finishing the book, I went back to appreciate each image.
In terms of form and modality, this book is one of the most unique and creative I’ve ever witnessed. The story, as you can see, is nonlinear. Brás’s successive deaths evoke a sense of fantasy, whimsy, awe, and simultaneous gravity.
If you have the opportunity, read this book. So great.
Comments