Hollow Heart 4 Featured Columns 

Don’t Miss This: “Hollow Heart” by Paul Allor and Paul Tucker

By | June 2nd, 2021
Posted in Columns | % Comments

There are a lot of comics out there but some stand out head and shoulders above the pack. With “Don’t Miss This,” we want to spotlight those series we think need to be on your pull list. This week, we take look at “Hollow Heart” from Vault Comics.

Who’s This By?

“Hollow Heart” is truly a two-man operation, with writing and lettering by Paul Allor (“G.I. Joe,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”) and line art and colors by Paul Tucker (“Nobody is in Control,” “Tet”). The book is published by Vault Comics.

What’s This All About?

I’ve been sitting at the computer for 10 minutes, trying to sum up “Hollow Heart” in a way that would make sense. Let’s try this on for size: a shady company has produced an artificial intelligence of some sort out of human body parts and robot parts. He falls in love with a technician who doesn’t just work on him, but also shows him kindness beyond his wildest expectations.

But, things aren’t as EL, the creature, thinks they are. Mateo, the tech, is not telling EL the truth, but seems to genuinely care for him. EL seems like he’s falling in love with Mateo, but that can’t be what’s happening, can it?

So, Why Should I Read This?

Paul Tucker is not a name I was super familiar with before this series, but he is doing some really special work here, especially with EL. It is always a challenge to show a creature without traditional features being emotional, but Tucker keeps finding ways to add depth behind the glass on EL’s face shield, even if it usually doesn’t involve any real, discernible change.

Tucker also makes some things that are, frankly, bizarre, look less disturbing. When Mateo opens up EL’s chest to work on him, he basically shoves his hands into certain parts and…how can I say this…gives EL an orgasm? That’s never explicitly stated, but it seems like Mateo basically jacks him off in order to show him that there is more to ‘life’ than just being trapped in his shell or dying, which is what EL has been trying to do for a long time now.

Paul Allor is dolling out information slowly throughout these issues, slowly revealing the intent and methods of Mateo and his coworkers vis a vis EL. There are a lot of questions raised by each issue, and Allor isn’t super quick to answer them, but is doing enough to make it seem like we’re learning more each month, but still keeping a lot close to the vest.

Allor also frames each issue in a story/metaphor that acts as a counterpoint to what we see on the page. Issue #3, for instance, talks about a rivalry between a teacher and a rich neighbor to the school which, eventually, ends with the teacher realizing the personal misery of the teacher is more than any revenge she could enact on him. This relates to a number of the characters in the book, all of whom are suffering, as we all are, to varying degrees. I once heard a philosophy professor say that she believed that if any of us were to suddenly switch bodies with someone else, the pain would be unbelievable, but that we’ve become accustomed to our own aches and pains. Taking that mindset into EL’s struggle is a bit of a stretch, because of the truly different life he ‘lives,’ but the point about all of us suffering stands.

Overall, the title asks a lot of questions about empathy, pain, obligation, love, and hope, and does so in unexpected ways.

How Can You Read It?

Issue #4 drops today, June 2, and, along with the first three issues, are available in finer comics shops everywhere, as well as digitally through comiXology.


//TAGS | Don't Miss This

Brian Salvatore

Brian Salvatore is an editor, podcaster, reviewer, writer at large, and general task master at Multiversity. When not writing, he can be found playing music, hanging out with his kids, or playing music with his kids. He also has a dog named Lola, a rowboat, and once met Jimmy Carter. Feel free to email him about good beer, the New York Mets, or the best way to make Chicken Parmagiana (add a thin slice of prosciutto under the cheese).

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