Grovel

Written by: Gilbert Hernandez
Art by: Gilbert Hernandez
Publisher: Vertigo (US), Titan Books (UK)
First published: 2006

Story:

Art:

Overall:

With Gilbert Hernandez best known for his work on Love & Rockets, this original graphic novel is something of a departure. We, however, are glad he made the leap.

Like Love & Rockets, this book focuses on believable characters with real lives, though there’s also a little of the fantastic thrown in. A mythical creature lives in a local lemon grove and has a tendency to swap places with teenagers, something that would appear to have been going on for generations.

If that makes it sound like a horror story, it’s not - like much good literature Sloth defies genre classification. There’s a lot more going on, featuring as it does a love triangle of disaffected teenagers and a healthy dose of punk music.

Hernandez’s monochrome drawing style is a matter of taste, more stylised and some might say rougher around the edges than most, but it carries the story well.

This tale of teenage life is magical in more ways than one. Like a lighter Black Hole or a more condensed and honed Locas, Hernandez has cut a slice of teenage life, sprinkled it with a touch of literary magic and served it up for your delectation. Make sure you don’t miss a single crumb.

Other titles by Gilbert Hernandez:

• Sloth
• Heartbreak Soup
• Human Diastrophism
• Chance in Hell
• Beyond Palomar