Yesterday I read the first publication of the first issue of a planned twelve issue comic book series entitled Providence.
Written by Alan Moore, and with art by Jacen Burrows, this is capital L literature in comic book form.
This is the Shakespeare of comics – with depths of horror and pathos virtually unparalleled, and exquisitely rendered.
Unlike great prose or even the magic of great poetry, comics allow for visual symbols, that, like the iconic images of film, can wordlessly move you, haunt you.
You will die soon. Your being is fragile. You have a very tenuous grip on this mote of dust, itself in orbit around a very dim candle, in an abandoned cathedral of stars spinning meaninglessly meaninglessly alone, and yet amongst all these billions of others alone in a vast universe of darkness, and though our ever-weakening grip on an existence that we, deep down, know will not last, there is a certain pleasure in seeing that doomed life reflected in great fiction.
I count myself lucky to live in a time when the great works of literature are as accessible as they are. And despite all the grey dross we must wade through to find that which we seek, there is something wonderful that happens when a work of such depth of quality is published within one’s own lifetime.
I urge you – do not miss the opportunity to experience Providence for yourself.
Below you will see that I have compiled a series of images from the first issue of Providence. In so doing I am picking up just one visual pairings that, when I noticed it, multiplied my depth of appreciation for this work of art.
There are many many others.
Posted by Jesse Willis