A rat darts across the opening pages, into a hole, and down a long tunnel, stopping under a hammock. A mole man stretches and wakes up, leading the rat and the reader deeper into the tunnel. What follows is a series of dreamlike sequences, each stranger than the last. Brian Ralph, author of the New York Times Graphic Novel Bestseller and YALSA Great Graphic Novel for Teens Daybreak, was a founding member of the influential Providence, Rhode Island, Fort Thunder art collective, which was renowned for the way its membersâ work intermingled lowbrow and highbrow art formsâdrawing inspiration from comics, video and roleplaying games, and contemporary art. Fort Thunder created the alternative adventure comic and the comic book as artistâs book. Cave In was seen as the first example of this new approach.
In this wordless classic, special emphasis is placed on the power of gesture. Minimalism allows Ralph to be playful with formâ Cave Inâs use of color and crosshatching speaks much more clearly to narrative shifts than is possible in a more conventional text, and the use of different panel shapes and sizes transform the rhythm and pacing of the story. Cave~In is an all ages adventure story, jam-packed with monsters, bats, and all manner of unimaginable underground mystery.
âBrian Ralphâs comics present more than meets the eye, but theyâre eye candy, too, and work well as fantasy stories that cover a specific landscape over a period of time roughly equivalent to the experience of seeing how they unfold. I find them immensely pleasurable. â - Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter
Brian Ralph is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and is currently a professor of sequential art at the Savannah College of Art and Design.
96 page 2-color 5.25x6.25" hardcover with color covers.
Drawn & Quarterly - Enfant, 2013
