X'ed Out

X'ed Out follows Doug, a young man who drifts between a surreal dream world and memories of his past relationship with an artist named Sarah. The narrative shifts between his current life, where he lives with his father while recovering from an unspecified trauma, and his hallucinatory journeys through a strange alternate reality filled with peculiar creatures and industrial landscapes. Burns employs his signature high-contrast black and white artwork, drawing visual inspiration from Tintin comics while subverting their innocence with darker themes and imagery. The story moves between different time periods, with each transition marked by distinct visual styles that help orient readers within the overlapping narratives. Doug's experiences in both reality and dreams connect through repeating symbols, most notably eggs, bandages, and photographs. The book explores trauma, memory, and the ways past relationships continue to haunt the present through both conscious and unconscious expressions.

Readers describe X'ed Out as a surreal, dreamlike experience that requires multiple readings to piece together. The art style and color choices receive frequent mention in reviews for enhancing the unsettling atmosphere. Readers appreciated: - The David Lynch-like narrative structure - Visual references to Tintin comics - Detailed artwork and panel compositions - The blending of reality and nightmare sequences Common criticisms: - Too short at 56 pages - Story feels incomplete without the other volumes - High price point for length - Plot can be confusing and hard to follow Ratings: Goodreads: 3.8/5 (3,900+ ratings) Amazon: 4.1/5 (50+ reviews) Several reviewers note feeling frustrated by needing to purchase the full trilogy to get a complete story. As one Goodreads reviewer stated: "Beautiful art but feels like paying full price for 1/3 of a book." Others defend the format, comparing it to serialized comics.

Black Hole by Charles Burns A graphic novel about teenagers in 1970s Seattle facing a mysterious sexually transmitted disease that causes physical mutations.

Uzumaki by Junji Ito A manga that follows the inhabitants of a town plagued by supernatural occurrences involving spiral patterns.

Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron by Dan Clowes A surreal comic narrative that weaves dreams, reality, and strange encounters into a man's search for his estranged wife.

The Yellow House by Nathan Cowdry A graphic novel that blends domestic drama with body horror and anthropomorphic characters in a reality-bending narrative.

Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann, Kerascoët A graphic novel that contrasts cute character designs with dark themes in a story of survival after catastrophe.

🔸 Charles Burns spent 6 years creating the X'ed Out trilogy, of which X'ed Out is the first installment, drawing inspiration from Hergé's Tintin comics and William Burroughs' surrealist narratives. 🔸 The distinctive visual style of X'ed Out alternates between two worlds: a realistic present and a nightmare landscape that mimics the clear line technique of European comics. 🔸 The main character, Doug, is based on a composite of Burns' experiences in the 1970s punk scene and his interest in the work of photographer William S. Burroughs. 🔸 The book's title references both the "X" that marks canceled-out days on the protagonist's calendar and the X-shaped scar on his forehead, symbolizing trauma and memory loss. 🔸 The unusual egg-headed character "Nitnit" (Tintin spelled backward) who appears throughout the story serves as a dark mirror to Hergé's famous character, navigating through a grotesque alternate reality.