Strange
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(First, let's get this out of the way. Yep.) Charles Burns' new graphic novel, X'ed Out is the 56-page beginning of a longer work to be published by Pantheon. I don't know if it will end up being as massive as Burns' epic-length Black Hole , but if X'ed Out continues to be as terrifically creepy as this first installment, I hope it goes on for a very long time. Like Black Hole , X'ed Out features artsy, angsty, twinpeaksy teens who take drugs and engage in risky behavior, but it's more hallucinatory than Black Hole . The story here bounces back and forth between Doug -- a student who does a performance art gig wearing a Tintin mask while reciting William Burroughs-inspired cut-up poetry (Doug goes by the moniker Nitnit and Johnny 23) -- and an otherworldly character who looks like a cross between Tintin and Doug.
Charles Burns' new graphic novel: X'ed Out -- exclusive preview