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Small Press Spotlight: The Lagoon

By | March 9th, 2010
Posted in Columns | % Comments


Article originally written by Steve Ponzo

It’s a tale that is dark and murky, mysterious and beautiful, but it’s what lies below the surface that gives The Lagoon its true depth.Lilli Carre’s graphic novel debut tells the story of a family seduced by a mysterious creature’s song heard emanating from the lagoon near by. The seductive tune soon disrupts the lives of young Zoey, her parents, and grandfather.The creature leads them each down a different path as they confront their desires and try to make sense of what it all means.

At just 24 years old, Lilli Carre’s storytelling carries with it the weight of maturity far beyond her years. The story of The Lagoon is based around song, so it’s only fitting that Carre’s artwork is delivered with a lyrical mix of stillness and rhythm. The notes of the creature glide from panel to panel and at times even seem to physically pull the characters to its source. The typographical qualities of sound move us through the pages.Clocks tick, metronomes tac, floor boards creek, scissors snip and fingers tap. However, these moments of cacophony are punctuated with silence, as some of the most beautiful moments exist in the spaces between sounds.This visual song that Carre has created is a brilliant balance of luscious black-and-whites that has the feel of a perfectly fluid woodcut.

For young Zoey the song represented the unknown of adulthood and her desire to grow up.She doesn’t understand the appeal of the song, and struggles to learn its alluring qualities.Each night she and her grandfather, who simply wishes to be young again, make sure there are no monsters under her bed. With her room free of creatures, she is able to sleep.

Her parents, are another story. Beneath their bed the creature hides, invited in after a night of lack luster sex that was marred by interruptions. The monster’s song lures the sexually frustrated mother, and eventually, her husband down a path of loss.When left unchecked, desire can become a painfully dangerous thing. It’s fine to listen to the song of the creature, but one must know when to turn away.

As Zoey and her grandpa get older, both of their desires are now tethered with restraint. They learn its ok to want, so long as it doesn’t consume. The book fades to black over a silent sequence of eleven pages as a fire slowly burns out.The fire calls out to Zoey, but it is the wisdom of her grandfather that tells her to let it be. It’ll fade in time.

Lilli Carre depicts a world where desire is a monster in the darkness.Adulthood is portrayed as a bleak place into which no one should want to grow and youth is a state of innocence, but not necessarily one of comfort. The cover to The Lagoon is a perfect visual metaphor of Carre’s tale. Zoey holds a diver’s helmet surrounded by the lagoon. It is Carre’s subtle way of saying that when you’re prepared to face the depths of our desires the lagoon can be a truly beautiful thing.


//TAGS | Off the Cape

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