Human Diastrophism

October 18, 2016

Publisher: Fantagraphics Books
Language: English
Length: 288 p.

Softcover
ISBN-10: 1560978481
ISBN-13: 978-1560978480

This volume collects the second half of Gilbert Hernandez’s acclaimed magical-realist tales of “Palomar,” the small Central American town, beginning with the landmark “Human Diastrophism,” named one of the greatest comic book stories of the 20th Century by The Comics Journal, and continuing on through more modern-day classics. “Human Diastrophism” is the only full graphic novel length “Palomar” story ever created by Gilbert. In it, a serial killer stalks Palomar — but his depredations, hideous as they are, only serve to exacerbate the cracks in the idyllic Central American town as the modern world begins to intrude. “Diastrophism” concludes with the death (the suicide, in fact) of one of Palomar’s most beloved characters, and a postscript that provides one of the most hauntingly magical moments of the entire series as a rain of ashes drifts down upon Palomar. Also included are all the post-“Diastrophism” stories, in which Luba’s past (as seen in the epic Poison River) comes back to haunt her, and the seeds are sown for the “Palomar diaspora” that ends this dense, enthralling book.

From: Fantagraphics Books

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