Before cartoonist Emma Ríos’s new graphic novel, Anzuelo, hits shelves from Image Comics this week, The Beat can reveal an exclusive preview with creator commentary.
Anzuelo is a dystopian story following three children after the Sea revolts and absorbs and transforms everything on Earth. They’re as lost as anyone, but come together through the unique adversity of surviving the Sea—and not wishing to harm any living creature. It’s a hopeful take on post-apocalyptic media stemming from Ríos’s desire “to write the Sea under my skin.”
In the following excerpt, Ríos tells The Beat, “I wanted to stay close to Nubero’s anxiety after having disappeared. The colors follow the emotions, and the birds and the floating silhouette, just a more physical feeling of the process he’s going through. I thought that drawing the character’s thoughts in opposition to what really happens could help bring a more oneiric feel to the story, and at the same time, leave space to build these thoughts personally instead of just reading about them.
“The captions tell the story in a nostalgic past tense to give context and suggest a lot has moved on from there,” she continues. “To be honest, I’m not fond of caption boxes and will usually avoid them at all costs. Using them in Anzuelo was intriguing though, as it helped me keep things calm to prevent the uncanny growing into a mystery box. I believe that in order to aim for a dense atmosphere the secrets must remain that way, unexplained. So I feel more at ease laying all the cards on the table.
“This moment also introduces Lucio as someone who naturally develops sensitivity towards the scary or the strange,” Ríos adds.
“Fish and birds have a lot of presence throughout the whole book,” Ríos explains. “I’d say birds are almost shown as invulnerable in this story. They stand for several ideas but always beyond our reach. Fish, instead, are reflections of the human vulnerability in the sea, but seen from the opposite side of the mirror.
“I love this quote from director Mamoru Oshii that translates into something like: ‘We weep for the blood of a bird, but not for the blood of a fish. Blessed are those who have a voice.'”
The Anzuelo hardcover will be available at your local comic shop on November 6 and everywhere books are sold and digitally on November 19.
English (US) · 