Goth’s Cage

Goth's Cage
Goth's Cage

By Yasushi Suzuki (DGN/DrMaster Publications)
ISBN 13: 978-1-59796-157-8

Yasushi Suzuki is one of the design world’s most respected artists. In illustration, design and the realm of computer and video games his eerie ethereal art has charmed and mesmerized millions, and his powerful manga Purgatory Kabuki (ISBN13: 978-1-59796-070-0) has won him fans for his ability to tell a story.

This slim (32 pages) little tome is a reworking of much pre-existing artwork into a bleak and beautiful picture book for adults. Surreal and deeply moving the book relates three short tales of love and horror, all rendered in a dazzling blend of styles but forming darkly memorable comic narratives.

‘Glass Magic’ stars a willfully cruel princess, ‘The Feeling of Pain’ traces the morbid journey of a little boy and the collection concludes with the dire love experience of ‘The Pair.’

Suzuki’s sublime skill with colour and line here blend with evocative line and wash creations and the incredibly high production values of this book, utilising the most modern of print techniques and processes to highlight the art make every page turn the doorway to fresh delights.

The narrative is simplistic and often obscure, but here plot is not as desirable as emotional reaction and the audience – hopefully much wider than the Lolli-goths and game-boys-&-girls it’s clearly targeting – should find itself drawn into an all-encompassing other world without worrying too much about how they got there.

This is an ideal and lovely present for the fantasist in your life, a fine piece of classic fantasy in its own right and well worth your time a-questing for it.

© 2008 Yasushi Suzuki. © 2008 DGN Production Inc. All Rights Reserved.