Percy Gloom [Hardcover]

Cathy Malkasian (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 6, 2007

2008 Eisner Award winner for Most Promising Newcomer: an absurd but hopeful cartoon fable for these strange times we live in.

Cathy Malkasian has made the jump from animation to the printed page with a graceful, delicate leap. She deftly uses her pencil to create thick, expressive characters moving through the twilight of a shadowy Orwellian world. Humorous and bewitching at the same time, Percy Gloom is a unique gem of a story. The story begins with our hero bravely striking out on his own for the first time, leaving his mother's house to apply for his dream job as a cautionary writer for the Safely-Now Corporation. In the process, he uncovers an unreal world of secret societies, benevolent families, and bureaucratic security. Lazy-eyed Percy Gloom fights to overcome the loss of his wife, Lila, to a truth-pointing, lotharian cult leader. Approached by his doctor to help protect some special people and given advice by some talking goats, Percy comes to terms with his place in the gloomy world and finds himself reaching enlightenment (literally). Percy Gloom is an absurd but hopeful fable for these strange times we live in.

2008 Eisner Award winner: Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award and 2008 Eisner Award Nominee: Best New Graphic Album. 174 pages of tinted duotone comics

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Malkasian is an accomplished animation director so it's a pleasant surprise that her first graphic novel is so literary. Her surreal world grapples with many deep themes. The eponymous character has always dreamt of working for Safely-Now, the company that puts warning signs on household objects. The road to Percy's dream job lands him in many weird situations with cults playing a major role in both his past and present. The entire Safely-Now operation seems to be run by maniacs, with the kindest people Percy meets the talking goats. Within all these imaginative creations lie ruminations on topics such as living a cautionary life, the value of life itself and imminence of death. It's an ambitious project, but Malkasian infuses the book with a mythic spirit that fits just right. The appealingly grotesque look—curved buildings and endless staircases—has a solidity that helps the strange world make sense on its own terms. The tinted duotone makes the book look like an instant antique. It's clear that Malkasian is more interested in cosmic questions than a tight plot, but since she weighs those questions so well, it's easy to appreciate how good this book is. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Cautious beyond reason or sanity, balloon-headed Percy Gloom carries with him a groaning case of hunger that can give his presence away in ticklish situations. He looks for employment in an appropriate place--a firm that composes the cautionary notes attached to consumer goods--yet finds there a distressing damsel with an eventually explained mean streak. His world is fittingly sepia-shaded and full of rounded objects, including his toylike car, the landscapes, and even the angles on the head of his pal Bernard. If Percy's world were any gloomier or softer-toned, it would be irritating, but Malkasian invests it with enough wit and slyness to maintain a quick, quirky pace. Not to be confused with Serena Valentino and Ted Naifeh's Gloom Cookie comics, this is a one-off existential ditty, goat song included. Francisca Goldsmith
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 174 pages
• Publisher: Fantagraphics Books (June 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560978457
• ISBN-13: 978-1560978459
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #903,162 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best graphic/comic- novel I've read, July 18, 2007

By 

Joshua LS (Philadelphia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Percy Gloom (Hardcover)

I'm not sure I can describe what a beautiful and thoughtful book 'Percy Gloom' is. Teetering between sinister and transcendental, the story feels so genuine and heartfelt, never smug or cynical, a sin I feel is easily committed in writing such a fantastic, surreal story.

Percy is a beautifully realized character, neurotic but ever so polite and meek. Informed that he may not use a goat's water fountain to wash out his mouth, Percy begs, pouting: "Oh mercy - mercy please! A very infected foot was just placed forcefully into my mouth!" When Percy's friend Bernard asks the hungry Percy if he likes hot-dogs, Percy responds that "Yes. They are a very intelligent species, flapping their tongues to expel heat."

This is not a novel of eccentricity for eccentricity's sake. Malkasian has created a strong plot containing running, subtle themes concerning mortality, regret, and self-discovery. This is certainly a novel that one will enjoy reading again and again, whereas most graphic novels I buy - often simpler and less 'meaty' - usually only interest me the first time around. Like Sparkwatson commented, I truly hope this is not the last of Percy Gloom.

And check out the Percy Gloom website to hear the goat song!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a strange and lovely world, July 7, 2007

By 

sparkwatson "ideacog.net" (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Percy Gloom (Hardcover)

Percy Gloom lives in an odd and lovely and very unique world, where the aged shrink away to nothingness and mountains get made by 'just add water' and wise goats sing opera. Part Kafka part Jonathan Swift part nightmare, the art is gorgeous. I was entranced enough after reading this (loaned to me by a friend) I immediately came here to see what else I could get by this author. Alas, very little it seems. A quick web search shows she's directed children's movies.

The ending was just beautiful. Here's hoping this becomes a series.

4.0 out of 5 stars Lovely., November 1, 2007

By 

Robert P. Beveridge "xterminal" (Lakewood, OH) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Percy Gloom (Hardcover)

Cathy Malksian, Percy Gloom (Fantagraphics, 2007)

Percy Gloom is a lovely little (well, big actually) book that is, at its heart, about the dangers of oversheltering. Malkasian takes the usual formula and expands it, creating an entire society whose watchword is caution. (The product warnings in Malkasian's world look quite similar to our own. Not coincidence, this.) Everywhere in this world, we see the consequences of rampant paranoia spiraled out of control, including (but certainly not limited to) an overly competitive cautionary writer who injures himself in spectacular ways on the job so as to gain social status. (His project when we meet him: rigging up a contraption to drop an entire set of encyclopedias on his head.) From this premise, all Malkasian had to do was think a bit about the logical consequences of this insanity, and the end product is Percy Gloom. I rather hesitate to use the term "cautionary tale", but there's certainly an undercurrent of "we're headed this way, and we should take a look at it" beneath this enchanting, if depressing, piece of work. Highly recommended. ****