Blitz review: Negative Space #1- Letting go and falling into creativity

Art: Owen Gieni
Script: Ryan K Lindsay
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Released: 8th July 2015



Negative Space is very much a book about, and for, writers. It’s about the creative process, the manipulations of corporate paymasters, and what happens when creativity dries up.

The best thing about the book is the artwork by Owen Gieni. The cover doesn’t do the book justice, as the interior art is stunning, washed in sadness, and dripping with sweet melancholic beauty.

The narrative is sad, depressed, but hope flickers and as you follow the day in a life of a suicidal writer you know that he’s going to be okay, that there’s going to be a twist, and that he’ll learn how to live again.

And so the book ends with that twist, not really a twist, but an expected hope spot (that’s a wrestling term) that keeps you interested in the protagonist, and invested in his story.

It’s a bit weird, but the beautiful art, refreshingly different protagonist (he’s fat and ugly, not young with a cool haircut) and overall impression that the book has a rare spark of creativity, of originality about it, has hooked me.

I’ll be back for issue #2, and I’m very much looking forward to reading it, not just because of the art, but because of the concept and the protagonist. I like them both, and I want to tag on, to see what happens next.


Rating: 8/10 (I dislike the cover, but everything else about the book works very well)