Black Hole (comics)
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| Black Hole | |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Kitchen Sink Press \ Fantagraphics |
| Format | Limited series |
| Publication date | 1995 - 2005 |
| Number of issues | 12 |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Charles Burns |
| Artist(s) | Charles Burns |
Black Hole is a limited series written and illustrated by Charles Burns.
The story deals with the aftermath of a sexually transmitted disease which causes grotesque mutations in teenagers.
Contents |
[edit] Publication history
It was published as a 12-issue comic book limited series between 1995 and 2005. The first four issues were released by Kitchen Sink Press; after Kitchen Sink went out of business, Fantagraphics republished the first four issues and the remaining eight. A compiled hardcover volume was released by Pantheon Books in 2005. This collected edition, however, lacks many pages that were included in the first publication- the ones that showed some characters' faces. These pages are considered by some critics to be essential. [1]
[edit] Plot
Set in the suburbs of Seattle during the mid-1970s the book follows a group of mostly middle class teenagers who over the summer contract a mysterious sexually transmitted disease known as "the Bug" or "the teen plague", which causes them to develop bizarre physical mutations, turning them into social outcasts. This is an issue that both of the main characters, a boy and a girl, face as they go through many sexual encounters. The female lead contracts the disease fairly early in the story as she has sex with a ladies' man from her high school that she had been too nervous to speak to before. As they begin he tries to warn her of his condition, in his specific case manifesting itself as a mouth at the center of his collar bone, but she dismisses his alert. She contracts the bug, which causes her skin to loosen and peel off. Several teens with the bug find seclusion at "The Pit", an encampment in the woods outside of town. Later some of the characters move to a tract house while its owners are on vacation. Burns has said that the mutations can be read as a metaphor for adolescence, sexual awakening and the transition into adulthood.[2]
The look of the comic is meant to evoke the feel and atmosphere of classic 70s teen horror films like The Last House on the Left, Carrie and Halloween.[citation needed]
[edit] Film
In November 2005, the message board of the Comics Journal reported that Black Hole will be adapted to film by the French director Alexandre Aja (Haute Tension). In March 2006, comics news site Newsarama reported that Neil Gaiman and Pulp Fiction co-writer Roger Avary would be adapting the screenplay, and in May 2006 Gaiman confirmed this in a Time magazine interview.[3][4]
In February 2008, Variety reported that the film will be produced by Paramount Pictures and directed by Academy Award-nominee David Fincher (Se7en, Fight Club, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button).[5]
Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary officially left the production of the film, with reports that their script will not be used. It is unknown who will be taking over the writing process.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ "Black Hole". The Savage Critics!. 2009-22-02. http://savagecritic.com/2009/02/favorites-black-hole.html.
- ^ Appleford, Steve (2006-02-14). "Interview with Charles Burns" (text). Los Angeles City Beat. http://www.lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=3322&IssueNum=141. Retrieved on 2007-09-30.
- ^ "Gaiman, Avery To Adapt Black Hole For Screen". Newsarama. 2006-03-08. http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=62143.
- ^ "Leader of the Pack". Time. 2006-04-23. http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/article/0,13005,901060501-1186537,00.html.
- ^ "David Fincher falls into 'Black Hole'". Variety. 2008-02-20. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117981202.html?categoryid=13&cs=1.
- ^ "Neil Gaiman On Adapting Charles Burns’ Graphic Novel ‘Black Hole’". MTV. 2008-10-21. http://splashpage.mtv.com/2008/10/21/neil-gaiman-escapes-a-black-hole/.
