Burns, C. (2005). Black hole. New York: Pantheon. ISBN 037542380x 5Q/3P

Summary: A bug is spreading among the teens of Seattle. They are grotesquely deformed, forced to hide in the ravines away from society. Will it drive them to madness?

Media: Pen and ink.

Artwork: Stark contrast between black and white. Curved lines dominate the images, echoing the theme of holes and circles. Images are repeated, and faces are mirrored through other characters to maintain flow throughout the story.

Potential for challenge: Black Hole is a highly regarded graphic novel, but with its mature images and subject matter, it should be directed to an older audience. Its established position as a classic text, in combination with skillful images and engaging storyline, warrant its placement in a high school graphic novel collection. Note that people may object to situations of sexuality, drinking, violence and mutation. This novel is ripe for discussion with mature teens, or individual reading. Offer to fans of film, horror, and science fiction. To address challenges, note that the text (almost) offers a moral that is anti-sexual intercourse, demonstrating the extreme punishment enforced upon those who engage in sex (particularly young women). Provide positive reviews for the text that argue the merit of both story and artwork.

 

KEM 4/20/08

 

 

Black Hole by Charles Burns. New York: Pantheon, 2005.

 

 

 

 

Dark with elements of the surreal. A plague is sweeping through middle America as a sexually transmitted disease turns teens into mutated creatures. A corkscrew penis, a tail, and a fully-functioning mouth on a neck are just some of the mutated forms these teens must live with.

 

 

A commentary on alienation, apathy.

 

 

Stark black and white drawings that evoke block cutting.

 

 

Literary Concept:

Simile:

(Pages not numbered; opening pages of part one titled “Biology 101”)

Black Hole opens with one of the main characters in biology class dissecting a frog. The frog is split open (evokes vaginal/ripped hole image that carries on throughout the book).

 

 

As the skin opened up, a bunch of formaldehyde spilled out. You could see the guts through the slit I’d made and they looked all hard and white. I froze. I can’t explain what happened. It was like a déjà vu trip or something…a premonition. I felt like I was looking into the future…and the future looked really messed up. I was looking at hole…a BLACK hole and as I looked the hole opened up…and I could feel myself falling forward, tumbling down into nothingness.

 

As the words fill the pages, images of skin, sex, the universe, and the frog filter through. The author uses a textual simile as well as an illustrated metaphor that foreshadows the disease and tragedy to come.

 

 

Theme Discussion

 

Black Hole leads much to the reader’s interpretation, which is one of the most intriguing aspects of this novel.

 

Teens are struck by a bizarre plague which is sexual transmitted. This disease manifests itself in many ways: a completely mutated, melted face, a corkscrew penis, shedding skin, a tail, a mouth imbedded in a neck. Teens make an effort to pass in regular society if they can, or form small ostracized groups out in the forest.

 

In much of the story, stark vaginal issues of holes dominate the images, but this hole is never fully explained, other than a simile at the beginning that implicates a future of nothingness.

 

There is no blatant condemnation of teen sexuality, and in fact, only a few encounters seem frivolous or careless.

 

Trailing through these stories is a sense of dread, as strange art works appear in the forest, and mysterious deaths and disappearances begin to claim the lives of the out-ed teens. Ultimately, it is a fellow-teen who is conspiring for control and revenge for perceived injustices when the teens were normal, or thwarted love.

 

Although there are many thematic levels to this book, there are a few predominant themes.

 

The future, particularly in adolescence, is illustrated by a black hole, unknown and menacing.

 

Teens conform and look normal, or they form their own groups.

 

The plague spreads but no one seems alarmed or in problem-solving mode; they are apathetic. They numb themselves through drugs and alcohol….this is a commentary on the various things in post 9/11 consumer culture that numb us from dealing with what is destroying us.

 

Individuals seek salvation and identity in romantic relationships and friendships. These insular moments provide some of the only moments of realism and recognition. Or are they a means of escapism?

 

The reader is left to contemplate these themes, and the images remain long after the book is closed.

 

 

 

 

(DM 4.23.08)

 

 

Citation: Black Hole by Charles Burns. New York: Pantheon, 2005

 

 

ISBN: 037542380X

 

 

Annotation:  A mysterious virus is attacking sexually active teens in Seattle. The virus viciously and relentlessly transforms the teens into monsters.

 

 

Media: Pen, Ink

 

 

Illustrations: The text is rich in black and white symbolism and imagery, particularly the occurrence of a “black hole.” The artwork is bizarre and frightening in nature. The black hole is a metaphor for the darkness caused by this monstrous virus. The black hole sucks the life out of whoever passes its way and devours their humanity by turning them into a mutated creature. The black hole is also symbolic of female genitalia.

 

 

Rating: 4Q/4P

 

S.F 06/21/09

 

Burns, C. (2005). Black hole. New York: Pantheon. ISBN 037542380x 5Q/3P

Summary: A bug is spreading among the teens of Seattle. They are grotesquely deformed, forced to hide in the ravines away from society. Will it drive them to madness?

Media: Pen and ink.

Artwork: Stark contrast between black and white. Curved lines dominate the images, echoing the theme of holes and circles. Images are repeated, and faces are mirrored through other characters to maintain flow throughout the story.

Potential for challenge: Black Hole is a highly regarded graphic novel, but with its mature images and subject matter, it should be directed to an older audience. Its established position as a classic text, in combination with skillful images and engaging storyline, warrant its placement in a high school graphic novel collection. Note that people may object to situations of sexuality, drinking, violence and mutation. This novel is ripe for discussion with mature teens, or individual reading. Offer to fans of film, horror, and science fiction. To address challenges, note that the text (almost) offers a moral that is anti-sexual intercourse, demonstrating the extreme punishment enforced upon those who engage in sex (particularly young women). Provide positive reviews for the text that argue the merit of both story and artwork.

KEM 4/29/08