The Mysteries

This is a lovely book that answers to no one. I admire it for what it is, and nothing else. The very critical reviews here make me rather sad. This is a work of art. If you enjoy it, that's wonderful. If you do not, then perhaps it's not meant for you. The story is an allegory, and while many reviewers have made attempts to make its meaning explicit, I will do no such thing. Honestly, I feel that to do so would be in direct opposition of what I just read. Suffice it to say that it's a beautiful, haunting book that can be read in only a few minutes if you really want, with just a few words on each page; or it can be lingered on for longer, to slowly absorb the precisely worded story and darkly enchanting artwork. The whole thing feels like the embodiment of a dream, or (long shot) if anyone's familiar with Marillion's 21st Century, like something manifested from that song. It's physically smaller than I expected, well made, and has a hard, cloth cover that feels good to hold. While it's called a fable for adults, there's no reason is can't be read by children who happen to find it lying around. Personally, I'm glad it exists.

Artful in every detail, The Mysteries is both a timeless and timely parable. A little book with a big message. It invites us to look within. This is a cautionary tale of few words. The text is concise and accessible. I would think that anyone over the age of eight would find it easy going. It seems to me to be an enjoyable and worthwhile read for children and adults. The format serves well the telling. Against a stark, white background each line of the unfolding story appears in the center of its own left-hand page. On the right, a full page image illuminates the words, like pictorial adjectives and adverbs. The largely white pages to the left juxtaposed with the richly detailed full page pictures on the right is striking. Those who give these wonderful images no more than a cursory glance will be missing much. Cast in black & white and shades between, the pictures are on the dark side, as befits the fable, but they’re certainly not dreary! I found myself chuckling at the outlandish characters who inhabit this land, at once far off and close by. With their hyperbolic heads—the facial expressions alone are worth the price of admission—and their peculiarly proportioned bodies, along with their various and sundry personal effects, the figures are fantastical and filled with humor. I loved The Mysteries and it has left me thinking, not necessarily of things I’ve not thought of before, but thinking, nonetheless. The Mysteries are not so mysterious, after all.

After an almost 3-decade absence, Bill Watterson is back but in a new and mysterious way. I absolutely loved this collaboration, as well as the simplicity and the depth with which it was delivered. The artwork is mesmerizing, unsettling, and is calling for your attention in a way that makes it hard to put down. This book has been definitely following me around the house as its own mysterious entity. This is not a book for everyone, and definitely not the kind of book that will relieve your itch for another comic. This is a tale of darkness and light, a mix of meditation and unsettling questions. This is perfect for those who love metaphor, prefer to live with the questions (as opposed to having everything answered on the spot), and who feel comfortable in the mythopoetic realm. What a gem! For those who want to know more about the creative process behind this wonderful collaboration, I suggest looking up "Collaborating on The Mysteries - Bill Watterson and John Kascht" on youtube. It definitely made me appreciate this book even more, seeing how all the elements came together. Simply wonderful!

"The Mysteries" is the latest work of one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, over 10 years in the making. And I don't know what to do with it. Surprisingly, I think John Kascht maybe the real star here, although I'm not sure how much input Watterson had on the visuals. I read it once, I enjoyed the story and the illustrations. That's where this work really shines. I almost wish the story had been written in some style of calligraphy, or been implemented into the artwork somehow, like The Book of Kells, or an illuminated manuscript. A missed opportunity I think. The pages are very sparse. This would have worked fine if it was in some form of poetry. Instead it's written like a children's book, but is clearly targeted towards adults. I appreciate the message, though. I could imagine this being narrated by Christopher Lee. Now that I've read it, what do I do with it? Put it on the coffee table for guests to read? Give it to my toddler to read? Read it and reread it and reread it over and over again? I don't want to do any of these things with it. It's cool, but not that cool. The illustrations are great, but no better than a lot of the things I've seen in children's books I read to my kids. Children read and reread books like this over and over again, not adults. Other than looking at the pictures a few more times, or maybe rereading the story one more time just to kind of ponder, I think I'm done with it. It'll sit on my shelf for the rest of my life I suppose. If I want to share how much I love Bill Watterson with someone, "The Mysteries" will definitely not be my go-to. Only a footnote in the career of a legend. I don't think it's the story (which is clever, but nothing new) or the lush artwork that makes this uninteresting, I think it's the medium. I think it would have been much more interesting as a short stop motion film. Short meaning 3 to 5 minutes, max. Shakespeare this is not. John Kascht's visuals are gorgeous, and beg to be in motion. As a hardcover coffee table type book, it just doesn't seem to serve much of a purpose. That being said I am glad I bought it. I think. If for no other reason just to show Bill Watterson how much the world wants to hear his voice again. I think I'm a fan of John Kascht now though.

As a lifelong fan of Calvin and Hobbes, I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but I'm pleasantly surprised. It's a very quick read, but it has a sticking quality that has had me coming back to it a couple times. I've heard/seen this book described as "horror manga", but... what? It has a darker tone, sure, but it's not outright scary in any way, and I don't see the manga connection at all. It's more like Nightmare Before Christmas, with some creepy elements and a unique art style but a kid-friendly atmosphere overall. Speaking of the art style, it's utterly bizarre yet captivating, too. Every page has an image with a short text blurb, and it's hard to nail down what I'd even describe the art as. It's like a combo of hand-drawn, painted, claymation, and CGI effects over the top... I think. If you're not turned off by the idea of a short fable with some truly weird art and (what I find to be) a satisfying story, it's definitely worth a look. If you're hoping this is more C&H, you'll likely be disappointed.

Poor demon-haunted human animals who are yet filled with hubris, succumbing to the lure of easy living, still a part of nature no matter how removed we think ourselves is a now cliched theme, going back to some of the earliest fables of humanity. That’s fine, there’s a reason this is a timeless idea! But we all know it and this book is simply a bland restatement of the cliche. It is a worthy theme to contemplate and even comforting for some of us to know none of it matters. In the meantime, while we wait to not matter, we would like to be entertained and this retelling ain’t it. The illustrations stirred a bit more interest for me, guessing at the techniques used to produce them (I haven’t watched the video referenced by another reviewer of the collaboration process, but will seek it out). The images are evocative, but, I feel, overworked. To make sure we know this is a “fable” tropes of ye olde fairytale are used, familiar to anyone who enjoys a Disney movie: timbered buildings, rough peasantry, the ridiculousness of the king conveyed by his short and rotund physique, the white-bearded wizard, etc. The illustrations add nothing to this oft-told tale. Again, there’s nothing wrong with cliches and tropes! This one in particular bears repeating! This book does not amplify nor expand the theme, unless it’s meant as a too clever example of the mindless devouring of the human animal as we all sit in our easy living homes with our preordered books made from razed deep dark forests that were fossil fuel transported to us for absolutely no good reason at all, not even for entertainment’s sake. Cute.

First, the printer has quality control issues. My book arrived with wild threads coming off the front cover, creased pages, several scratches and blots on the cover, and the entirety of the inner pages have waves like moisture damage. That out of the way, the story is hardly a story at all, racking up a whopping 371 words that amount to near meaninglessness. It feels less like a story and more like a series of clues for an ARG that you just paid a $20 entry for. This was touted as "a fable for grown-ups" and feels more like a twitter thread rambling much ado about nothing. There is no fable, there is nothing adult about it. There is no moral to be found in the pages of this book, unless the moral is "Don't preorder books". I just want to say, writing this has saddened me quite a bit. It took me about an hour to squeeze this out of my head. I wanted to find something here, I love C&H, I deeply appreciate Mr. Watterson and the way he influenced my childhood. I may not have ALL of Calvin and Hobbes, but I have several of the books. All well read and loved. They sit on my little one's shelf these days, I keep hoping to find her cracking open the pages. Enough rambling though, I nearly returned "The Mysteries" to Amazon. I wont, but I wont be keeping it.

Like many, I preordered this book unsure what to expect, but hoping to be delighted. When it arrived, it took less than a minute to read and two-thirds of the way through I began laughing when I realized where it was going. I continued laughing as I recommended it to friends as a simple, bleak, and funny bedtime story for adults. In the days since, I've continued to think about the story and how it is told. I'm struck by the fact that this little book is really all that we know, and will likely ever know, of the human story. Millions of years from now, if one were to summarize our experience on Earth, it would be distilled this way as many obituaries cut to the essence. As I continue to think about the book, I'm amazed by how much it hits on. Why we tell stories. What we are looking for. What we've become detached from over time. How much we think we know. How much we don't. And never will or could. And in all of that, the unknown, unspoken, unseen is a thing to crack instead of a wonder to accept. An answer to conquer instead of a sense of meaning to be faced with humility. That all may seem like a reach. I certainly don't know. However, Watterson has proved himself a master of distilling philosophical musings to a few frames in a comic strip. I think this seemingly simple book, and it's menacing fairy-tale artwork, will provide much to ponder as I revisit over the years.