This fantastical sci-fi/fantasy is brimming with mystique and life, recognizable - but still very different from anything you've read before. Around the carcass of a whale gathers different forms of life to find food, shelter and to survive.
Absolutely gorgeous comic. Color schemes are low contrast, subtle, and so beautiful! has a print-making quality. The linework is organic but highly technical, mesmerizing. The style reminds me of Moebius, and yet stands out as different (the linework and mark-making being more organic as mentioned).
The story is centered around nature, and cycles of life including death and decay. Not too many words, which works well with the drawings and themes. The visuals do a lot of the heavy-lifting.
For anyone interested in the craft of drawing I highly recommend this. Even if the story isn't up your alley the sheer visual brilliance is worth checking out.
Probably one of my favorite contemporary artists. I hope she makes more comics!
Tra graphic e silent, Disfacimento è un'opera che si muove ai margini del crepuscolo e dell'aurora. Crepuscoli e aurore del colore, delle linee, della vita. Linee morbide, arrotondate o allungate in appendici e tentacoli, efficaci nel tracciare biologie straniere e misteriose, di cui Moebius sembra sfiorarne con delicatezza alcuni tratti. Morbidi i colori, sfumati e soffusi come profumi arborei o fumo di legna. La vita trascorre, trasfigura nell’effetto cromatico, le linee si sommano, ogni cosa collima e diverge racchiusa nel canto della balena che attraversa il tempo e, nel tempo, ritorna. Come scrive Claudia Durastanti nella postfazione, anch’io sono certa che piacerebbe a Donna Haraway questo universo frutto di mani femminili dove il battito vitale si inerpica e nasconde, muta e corregge, germina e spegne, dove si vive-con e si muore-con.
Libro straniante ad una prima lettura o per meglio dire, ad una prima visione. Poi leggo la postfazione e tutto mi risulta più nitido o forse semplicemente mi ha aperto la mente verso universi possibili. Così è questa graphic novel, quasi un silent book, perchè le parole sono davvero pochissime e sono vaghe, lontane, quasi le senti uscire come da un tunnel lungo chilomentri. Perchè il fulcro sono le immagini, anzi è il silenzio che scaturisce dalle illustrazioni. Così ad una prima sfogliata, paiono così povere di particolari, ma mi son sbagliato, infatti con la seconda di visione, l'universo onirico, immaginifico e visionario dell'autrice, esplode in tutto il suo splendore. E' un libro che ha bisogno di tempo, così come ne ha bisogno la Terra con i suoi tempi e noi esseri umani, soprattutto negli ultimi decenni, tendiamo ad accelerare sempre più, perdendo, anzi non cogliendo le sfumature che la Natura ci regala. Il disfacimento è quel punto che divide la vita dalla morte, oppure è semplicemente un processo naturale ci rigenerazione? Ardua domanda, penso che potremmo scoprirne l'arcano, soltanto cercando di capire i tempi della Terra, ricercando il silenzio puro della Natura e lasciando l'avidità e l'ego smisurato svolazzare via come una nube temporalesca spazzata via dal vento regolatore! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z36Rm...
When I watched James Cameron’s Avatar, my main thought was that I would've preferred a film that just depicted life in its alien jungle, without any of the corny trappings of a Hollywood blockbuster. I'm sure I'm in a minority with that opinion, but I feel like Linnea Sterte just might agree with me. Stages of Rot is considerably more interesting than my half-baked alternative vision for Avatar, but it's definitely in a similar spirit.
Basically, this comic depicts the ecosystems and peoples of a fantastical alien world over the course of millennia. As such, it feels more like a nature/anthropology/history documentary than a conventional fictional narrative. That isn't to say that it's completely plotless though; like any good documentary, it maintains coherence through the use of a central narrative thread, in this case the death and decay of a mysterious, gargantuan sky-whale.
The comparison to documentaries may be slightly misleading though, as this certainly isn't dry or academic. Rather, it's a heartfelt tribute to the beauty and wonder of nature, and particularly its cycles of death and rejuvenation. Some might read parts of the work as damning of humans' tendency for environmental destruction – and there are a couple of chilling sequences that certainly do go down this route – but ultimately I see Stages of Rot as optimistic, portraying humans as inescapably part of the circle of life, and celebrating nature's capacity to overcome apparent setbacks.
Although there is a plot, and interesting themes are explored, this comic isn’t driven by story or ideas so much as by atmosphere and visuals. Sterte’s artwork is subtly gorgeous, her intricate linework and evocative, muted colour palette creating a distinctly organic, slightly dreamlike feel. The pacing and visual storytelling are spot-on too, resulting in a quiet, meditative mood and even something of a poetic quality.
Stages of Rot is quite unlike anything else I’ve read, and I don’t really know how much of an audience there is out there for work like this, but for those of us who tend to find fantasy and science fiction settings more appealing than the predictable and hackneyed plots that typically go with them, this is a dream come true.
Linnea Sterte plantea un historia conceptual sobre los ciclos de la vida y la muerte en universo tan lejano o cercano como cada uno quiera imaginar. Para los que acudan buscando una historia convencional con su trama, sus personajes y su estructura basada en el planteamiento, nudo y desenlace, mejor eviten el viaje. La obra invita más a un acercamiento desde la impresión, tanto por la belleza plástica, el uso de la paleta de colores o la capacidad para saltar de las micro texturas a las imagines universales. Diferente y sin duda, sugerente.
Hands down one of the most beautiful comics that I have ever read. It kind of feels like Moebius doing Nausicaa all while feeling entirely original and breathtakingly fresh.
Absolutely gorgeous mostly silent sci-fi/fantasy comic. We see an entire intelligent civilization gathers and grows around the carcass of a giant whale.
Molto molto bello: l'autrice fa delle tavole così evocative che lasciano al lettore infinite speculazioni sul tempo e lo spazio in cui si svolge l'azione. Disfacimento è un portale su universo fantascientifico e allo stesso tempo una dichiarazione d'amore alla natura e alla sua ineluttabile ciclicità.
So good! It's about societies existing in and around alien whalefalls, a bit like Escaping Exodus by Nicky Drayden except it's no plot only vibes. Highly highly recommended.
Finalmente una vera novità: questa graphic novel ha un linguaggio estremamente contemporaneo, senza necessità di dover parlare di argomenti strettamente contingenti gli anni Venti di questo nostro disturbato secolo. Anzi, le riflessioni, che individualmente scaturiscono, sono alcune tra quelle che hanno sempre accompagnato l'umanità: le eterne domande sul significato e l'enormità del Tempo, grande protagonista qua, per esempio, o l'arroganza dell'Uomo nei confronti della Natura. Forse per avere prodotti innovativi sensati e non fini a sé stessi bisogna rivolgersi a giovani fumettist*/scrittor* (Sterte, nello specifico, è una scrittrice classe 1991)? Mi sono sentita coinvolta, è riuscita ad arrivare direttamente a me, parlando la mia stessa lingua.
La quasi totalità delle parole di questo libro, peraltro, si trovano nella postfazione (misurata e molto centrata) di Durastanti, anche traduttrice, ma la mancanza di testo non rende questa esperienza meno completa: sensazioni vivide (in un paio di momenti, mi si è proprio stretto il cuore), compiutezza dell'arco narrativo, netta identificazione dei personaggi. Alle volte basta un solo verso per comunicare chiaramente con il lettore, suono che si aggiunge a delle tavole, a mio gusto, stupende, con la palette di colori limitata ad un paio di tonalità diverse per ogni stadio. Alla fine della lettura, sono tornata indietro per ammirare con più calma alcuni disegni: è evidente la grandissima attenzione. La cura del dettaglio e la delicatezza sempre puntuale traspaiono ad ogni immagine; la botanica inventata e la relativa entomologia sono deliziose: catturano la fantasia, senza finire nel regno della magia.
È così facile perdere le cose che non sono mai accadute. (dalla postfazione dell’edizione italiana)
A proposito di traduzione, trovo che il titolo italiano sia perfetto: in sole dodici lettere racchiude lo spirito dell'intera storia, ma vorrei menzionare anche quello inglese "Stages of Rot" (letteralmente, "stadi di decomposizione/marcescenza"), coerente e bello anche così.
A mostly wordless story featuring the decomposition of an alien whale-like creature and how the surrounding ecosystem changes around it. Themes like environmentalism, transformation and rejuvenation are on display here, with Linnea Sterte doing a remarkable job telling a detailed story with minimal dialogue. There are times where I felt a little more explanation as to what was happening would help, but perhaps that can be unraveled with subsequent readings. The art is absolutely stunning in general.
An amazing graphic novel with artwork that hits beyond the page. She speaks on how we treat the earth and how we treat each other and the message isn’t clearly defined even tho it’s pretty obvious what she’s doing. W this I feel I can come back to it at any time and gain something new. Also her understanding of nature’s anatomical structure is mind boggling. It allows her to make stuff up that looks like you could see it in a textbook. Blown away by this whole thing
The thousand processes of nature, regurgitating and breathing each minute, destroying and forming new shapes to infinity. Even if we dare to observe them, we still don't grasp it fully
Las grietas por las que la vida sigue adelante. El dibujo es bellísimo, te invita a ser testigo de los tiempos de un ecosistema, que siempre van más allá de los marcados por individualidad humana.
I was once fully informed about the goings on in the comic book world. Not so much recently. I was thrilled to learn about cartoonist/illustrator, Linnea Sterte.
Last year this book sold out fast. This new edition comes with a 17 page “companion piece”. Stages of Rot is a gorgeous book focused on wildlife and plant life and mystical beings( the sense of discovery is quiet, slow, absolutely wonderful pacing.
Gorgeous comic book. If you like the film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind directed by Hayao Miyazaki, you will be really into this book.
It is not full of words or dialogue. And you could finish this quickly. However, the depth of detail in the beautiful drawings might ask you to stay in each moment for a while.
This is the most beautiful graphic novel I've ever come across and probably ever will come across in my life. the art was ethereal and gorgeous and the story was beautiful. I could keep listing adjectives but instead I think I'm gonna go read it again. so happy to have come across this 💚
Non è il mio tipo di graphic; per molte pagine è un silent book postumano (Durastanti, che lo ha tradotto, usa ”alieno” da qualche parte nella postfazione). Disegni molto belli e angoscianti.
Quand j'ai déballé les cartons de livraison aujourd'hui et que je me suis retrouvée avec ce livre dans les mains, j'ai été subjuguée par la couverture (🐋!). J'ai été emballée par le mélange parfait des illustrations, des couleurs, du papier (oui parce que c'est important aussi!) qui créent un ensemble vraiment très beau. C'est une bande dessinée quasi muette. Tout se passe par le dessin. Il y a une phrase par ci, par là, mais c'est tout. Par contre soyons honnêtes: je n'ai rien retenu de l'histoire. Mais alors qu'est-ce que c'était joli!
Really nice art, if a slightly obscure plot. The premise is simple: here’s an alien world, there’s a dead whale and watch as the years pass by and life takes over its body. Sometimes the panelling can be a bit unclear about what exactly is happening, but it’s a pretty ride nonetheless. Cool to see all these alien cultures, and the slices of society you get from them.
It’s beautiful, strange, and entirely small press literature at its finest. A good read and a good find :)
Such a gorgeous book! It's like a wonderfully imagined dream, the details of which you're allowed to take in and live through slowly with joy. It has really good color pallettes, and world design, very little dialogue, and similar to works by Moebius, and Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaa.
Read “Disfacimento” (Stages of Rot in original) by Linnea Sterte, translated and written about beautifully by Claudia Durastanti. My friend Mina and I wandered through its pages in awe and confusion. The first read dragged us into a universe we understood so little about. Who are all these peoples? What are they trying to do, and why? What world is this? Then the questions slowly faded as we were overcome with its silence, its magic. There are so few words in this graphic novel, and the beings in it are all part-familiar, part-eerie. The story - as stories do - took us from a beginning to an end, which is another sort of beginning, though not better or worse, and not easier to grasp. The beauty of it lays so much in its creation of this other world, with its own language, that cannot be deciphered. In the end, a scientist prepares for an exhibition. All that exists must be catalogued, at all costs, it seems. And yet it cannot be. “Stages of rot,” tells us again and again that the world is not here for us humans to understand and name it.
Astounding graphic novel. This combination of myths, science, fantasy and science fiction makes it very unique. Details and landscapes are microscopic, yet with aethereal athmosphere interwoven all together in one unique piece. Each page is like a continuous liquid colored drop of story that continues as magical realism on and on. Great author.
This is visually stunning, and incredibly inventive. I'm not sure I allowed myself to sink into the presented world enough to fully grasp what the author intended to communicate or explore, but experiencing the art is enough to illicit enjoyment and intrigue.