Comic Book Review - Eleutheromania

Rob reviews Eleutheromania...

Before reading Anas Abdulhak's poetic one-shot I had never heard of the word; eleutheromania. A quick Google search later and I had found out that its meaning is "a mania or frantic zeal for freedom". So, with this new information in mind, I headed into Anas Abdulhak's debut comic with a sense of anticipation. 

Where a normal comic has a clear story with a cast of characters, Eleutheromania is best described as a visual poem. It's a journey of two beings who are struggling to free themselves from the shackles that bind them. Act one focuses on an un-named slave who attempts to free himself from the giant stone ball that he's forced to drag through the desert. As we follow this person, Abdulhak narrates with plenty of powerful words that hammer home his character's feelings and struggles. 

Act two then sends us into space as we follow the awakening of a celestial being. This one is slightly different to the first act as we see this being become shackled to what it's to become. 

While Eleutheromania isn't a traditional comic, it's still a great read. Abdulhak's poem is pretty poignant and will certainly relate to a lot of people. It's not a particularly uplifting poem it highlights our struggles with breaking free from what we define as "normal". This is arguably best portrayed in act one with the "slave" returning to his mundane life, rather than pushing himself into a new direction. It's something that we're all guilty of, whether it is our fear of the unknown, or just being comfortable in our existence. 

Bringing this powerful message across are Anton Mozhegov (Act 1) and Mattia Monaco (Act 2). While both artists bring their unique style to proceedings, each portrays the message of the poem incredibly well. The desert setting of act one is perfectly captured by Mozhegov, with great use of black and white. The character also displays a great deal of emotion which manages to give a higher meaning to Abdulhak's words.

Act two then sees Mattia Monaco's work as we head into the cosmos. Much like Mozhegov, Monaco portrays his narrative point incredibly well. From the get-go, the character is portrayed as someone (or something) powerful. Monaco captures the space setting with the perfect use of black, white, and possibly a hint of cool blue. As the narrative unfolds we then get hints of fiery orange and yellows which expertly capture the transformation of the being. 

No graphic work would be complete without the often forgotten letterer. For Eleutheromania this is Novella Locritani. Locritani's use of different fonts does a good job of helping to build each act. Within act one, we have a more gothic style font that has quite a raw edge to it. Act two swaps this for a more subtle font style which stands out against the darkness with some nice bold border colours. 

Overall, Eleutheromania is an interesting abstract piece of work. Whilst it doesn't necessarily follow a story, it does a good enough job to make you think - not only of your shackles but of those around you too! I may not have grasped the real meaning behind Anas Abdulhak's poetic one-shot, but I'm certainly glad to have experienced the journey. 

Eleutheromania is available to read online for free by clicking here. 

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Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow Geek Culture Reviews on Twitter and Facebook @GeekCultureRev