Laberintos is Charles Burns’ haunting trilogy exploring adolescence, creativity, and identity. It follows Brian Milner, a shy artist obsessed with horror films, who meets Laurie, sparking a connection that fuels their amateur sci-fi movie. As the group retreats to a secluded cabin to film, tensions rise—friendships strain, romantic entanglements shift, and Brian’s insecurities deepen. Blurring reality and dreams, the trilogy masterfully weaves themes of obsession, isolation, and self-discovery, culminating in a surreal meditation on youth, longing, and the labyrinthine paths of the subconscious.
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Charles Burns crafts eerie, hyper-controlled illustrations that probe the grotesque undercurrents of adolescence, identity, and disease. Best known for Black Hole, a haunting tale of teens afflicted by a sexually transmitted mutation, Burns fuses horror, surrealism, and suburban malaise in narratives that are as psychologically disturbing as they are visually exacting. His signature thick linework and stark black-and-white compositions amplify the unease within his stories. Deeply influenced by EC comics, punk zines, and pop surrealism, Burns helped redefine the aesthetic of independent comics, creating a uniquely unsettling body of work that lingers long after reading.
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Charles Burns crafts eerie, hyper-controlled illustrations that probe the grotesque undercurrents of adolescence, identity, and disease. Best known for Black Hole, a haunting tale of teens afflicted by a sexually transmitted mutation, Burns fuses horror, surrealism, and suburban malaise in narratives that are as psychologically disturbing as they are visually exacting. His signature thick linework and stark black-and-white compositions amplify the unease within his stories. Deeply influenced by EC comics, punk zines, and pop surrealism, Burns helped redefine the aesthetic of independent comics, creating a uniquely unsettling body of work that lingers long after reading.
Laberintos is Charles Burns’ haunting trilogy exploring adolescence, creativity, and identity. It follows Brian Milner, a shy artist obsessed with horror films, who meets Laurie, sparking a connection that fuels their amateur sci-fi movie. As the group retreats to a secluded cabin to film, tensions rise—friendships strain, romantic entanglements shift, and Brian’s insecurities deepen. Blurring reality and dreams, the trilogy masterfully weaves themes of obsession, isolation, and self-discovery, culminating in a surreal meditation on youth, longing, and the labyrinthine paths of the subconscious. Charles Burns, Reservoir Books, 2023 Reservoir Books 978-8418897900 Charles Burns 2023