Ghosts, Etc. Advanced Review

Ghosts, Etc.

Creator: George Wylesol
Publisher: Avery Hill

A review by Amelia Wellman

Ghosts, Etc. is a collection of short stories from George Wylesol. In the first story, Ghosts, the nameless protagonist works nights and weekends in the tunnels under a hospital. In The Rabbit, a heartbreaking story of responsibility, loss, and grief unfolds. And finally, Worthless is a stream-of-conscious narrative illustrating the phrase “idle hands make the devils work”.

Avery Hill doesn’t shy away from artsy, experimental comics, and George Wylesol’s Ghosts, Etc. is possibly the most experimental comic I’ve ever seen! This is a collection of poignant, unsettling stories that explores environments of abstract shapes and ideas.

In Ghosts we follow an unnamed narrator as they do their unspecified job in a maze of tunnels below a hospital. This story is by far my favourite. Everything about it is so simple but it’s within that simplicity that an atmosphere builds into something dreadfully spooky. It’s like you are lost yourself in the endless tunnels and as each panel passes, sending you deeper into areas you’ve never seen and can’t escape, anxiety slowly bubbles up in you. You’ll catch glimpses of the “ghosts” from your periphery vision at first, but then each glimpse lasts longer or gets closer. There’s real dread here and, like any good scary story, it’s impossible to describe exactly how it’s making you uncomfortable. Since you can’t explain exactly what it is that’s making you feel this way, the feeling only becomes worse and worse. It’s masterful horror, really just masterful storytelling in general because by the end of it, it’s still not clear if this was supposed to be horror in the first place.

The art of Ghosts is like a colourful instruction manual. It’s very simple, reminiscent of safety posters from the 1970s that dot factory and store backrooms. Like the narrative, the simplicity of the art is what makes this such an effective story. When it goes on for stretches of time without any narration at all, it’s unsettling beyond belief. And having the “ghosts” just be the edges of curtains you see around corners is such a lure. They’re non-threatening enough to follow deeper into the tunnels and such a clever construct to portray a ghost that may or may not be there.

Then the second comic, The Rabbit, is a short and bittersweet story (heavy on the bitter) about the price you pay for not listening. It also explores the isolation of feeling like an outsider. It’s truly heart wrenching and feels like a very personal lesson that Wylesol learned himself. This is the sort of story that sits with you after finishing it and further re-reads of The Rabbit will leave you more devastated than the last. I honestly couldn’t stop myself from crying the third time I went back to read it. It’s a very affecting tale.

The Rabbit’s art is a stark contrast to the story. Everything is highly detailed and features psychedelic colouring. It’s astoundingly bright and beautiful to counteract the sadness of the story. Everything is asymmetrical, but it’s balanced so that your eye is never drawn to just one thing.

Then the last story, Worthless, follows three teenagers, coined The Bad Kids, as they follow a disembodied voice “down the rabbit hole”, so to speak, and journey across Heaven, Hell and everything in between. This is the most non-story of the stories, relying more on the ubiquitous propaganda-esque art. It’s an art-deco, abstract journey through the afterlife that’s trippy as hell. Worthless is an experience and I think each person will see something different depending on how open you are to the experience. I wasn’t impressed with Worthless my first time through, but subsequent readings had me more involved.

The Verdict
Check it out! Ghosts, Etc. is a compelling project. I hesitate to call it any one thing because putting it in a box is a huge disservice to everything Ghosts, Etc. is. It’s a graphic novel that explores the medium outside of what the major companies produce; and while it is presented in a form we know (ie graphic novel) it’s anything but what we’ve seen before. Be open to it as an experience instead of a straightforward story and you’ll find a million little things that strike you!

Ghosts, Etc. will be available on August 1^st, 2017.