Everything we miss

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

On the dawn horizon, a pine tree all too briefly uproots itself. It dances . . . and nobody sees.
The low drone of the car's engine is heard and ignored from sleepy bedroom windows for miles around.

Have you ever wondered what goes on in your life when you're looking the other way? Perhaps you're so drawn into what's going on with you that you fail to notice the events taking place in your periphery--or even right under your nose? In Everything We Miss , Luke Pearson explores the dying days of a failing relationship through the infinitesimal unseen moments that surround it--and us. Pearson's most ambitious project to date is a poignant and empathetic graphic novella from one of the most exciting young creators in British comics. As well as an essential showcase of Pearson's astonishing visual storytelling ability, this is a book for anyone who's ever experienced loss, or agonized about what they have yet to find.

Luke Pearson , a comic book artist, author, and illustrator, lives in Tamworth, United Kingdom.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

The title of Pearson's graphic novel tells the reader exactly what to expect from the narrative. The tale follows a young couple whose romance is on the rocks, as well as myriad other characters as they maneuver through a strange world with supernatural curiosities and dangers literally around every corner. However, as the title suggests, none of these creatures or occurrences are noticed by any of the book's characters. In fact, even within the small, mundane spheres of their own lives things go unnoticed: relationships souring, resentments growing, health slipping away, apologies unheard, and so on. Through absurdist flights of rhetoric, Pearson encourages readers to question the curiosities and dangers that are neglected in their own lives as well. His artwork is cartoony but also highly expressive and brilliantly conveys sadness, frustration, anger, and futility. Verdict Pearson delivers a story suggesting that deep introspection can sometimes be at odds with self-discovery. While the tone often feels cynical, there is also an optimism here that comes from the notion that none of us are alone in our confusion and uncertainty.-Alger C. Newberry III, Genesee Dist. Lib., Flint, MI (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

Like Kevin Huizenga and Chris Ware, U.K. cartoonist Pearson uses cartoon-faced everymen to explore what it means to try to be human and maintain meaningful relationships in a world weighed down by mundane oppressions. In this surreal, haunting story, Pearson throws in an extra measure of the supernatural to shed light on why we do the dumb things that tear up our lives. An unnamed couple experience relationship problems, but their banal, needless cruelties are seen to be influenced by shadow people, who rise through the house at night, and observed by anurids, insectoid creatures that lurk just out of our eyesight but are addicted to human drama. Using precise layouts and a focused orange, black, and gray palette, Pearson plays out a familiar story with a poetic layer of menace and dark symbolism that adds either a chilling comfort (maybe we're not entirely to blame for messing things up) or a troubling denial (these mysterious creatures are merely projections of our own shortcomings). Although the story is marred by some undercooked tropes-suicide and a deadly meteor such as the one that struck David Mazzuchelli's Asterios Polyp-it's still a devastating story that resonates in the subconscious. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.