Synopses & Reviews
Formally innovative explorations bring poetry to the quotidian
In Gloriana, Kevin Huizenga exposes the mechanics that underpin everyday life. His protagonist, Glenn Ganges, has conversations about dish soap and library visits that are both faithful depictions of the mundane interactions we all have and so much more: existential dissections of the units that construct our lives. Huizenga has an understated, quiet approach to story writing that allows his characters (and his readers) the self-awareness to recognize the humor and tragedy of every moment.
Huizengas much-lauded work is finely detailed, and in its innovative use of form, it explores the boundaries of the comic medium, deconstructing and reconstructing panels to express temporality and lived experience more fully. Presented in this expanded edition, Gloriana employs familiar settings and thorough, sometimes scientific explanations to reach thoughtful conclusions.
Review
Praise for Kevin Huizenga:
“One of the most promising of a new generation of cartoonists, Huizengas stories use a combination of the quotidian and the surreal to explore themes of science, nature, religion and family.” —Time
“With art that ranges from clear-eyed cartooning to swirly expressionism, Huizenga takes his characters through poetic explorations of the profound.” —The Washington Post
“Huizenga is using the full power of the comics medium to cleverly and thoroughly report on the world around him, without letting the reader feel lectured to. For his mastery of evocative restraint and his ability to reimagine his surroundings in a way that reveals a hidden heart, Kevin Huizenga is this columns cartoonist of the year.” —The Comics Journal
About the Author
Kevin Huizenga lives in St. Louis with his wife; he is the author of the graphic novel Curses and the comic book series Or Else and Ganges.