Through the Black Gate is written by Alfredo Cáceres and published by Simon & Schuster. Artwork is by Alfredo Cáceres, colours by Alfredo Cáceres and letters by Alfredo Cáceres. Main cover art (left) is by Alfredo Cáceres.
Through the Black Gate is available from today, in comic book stores and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your physical copy from Simon & Schuster or digitally from Amazon Comixology UK.
Synopsis
Following a tragic house fire, thirteen-year-old orphan Irene is convinced her father’s soul is trapped inside her cat, Moses. Just as a strange fog sweeps over Irene’s town, a mysterious young musician named Francis comes to visit. Irene and her new roommate don’t particularly get along, but Moses soon leads them both through the fog to a strange tear in reality: an entrance to the Land of the Dead.
Review
“Ruth says loneliness is the root of all unkindness”
“Ruth sounds reasonable”
If I could describe Through the Black Gate in one word, I’d have a good handful to choose from. Sincere, cozy or charming would all be strong contenders, but I think the one I’d settle on would be kind.
Though the art style struck me as a sort of midpoint between the aesthetic of the Scott Pilgrim comic series and Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time, the difference in tone between Through the Black Gate and these earlier projects couldn’t be more stark.
Where O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim, for example, has a punkish irreverence to it, Alfredo Cáceres’ first graphic novel is uninterested in being edgy or ironic, and instead radiates – not unlike the glowing cat it features – an endearing warmth.
Set around the city of Valdivia in Chile, Through the Black Gate follows a young girl, Irene, who recently lost her parents in a house fire. She is taken into care by a family friend, Ruth, but struggles to move on from the death of her parents, believing her father’s soul to be trapped inside the body of Moses, her cat.
And this belief isn’t entirely unfounded, either, as her father and mother left behind a book detailing their research into the Graylands – a sort of limbo between our world and the Land of the Dead – and ‘soul seeds’, the means by which a spirit can anchor itself to an object or body, delaying it’s journey to the afterlife.
With the help of Francis – Ruth’s nephew, and a guitarist so talented he’s practically Harry Potter – Irene seeks to help her dad make the journey to the Land of the Dead. This ambition will lead her to the door between life and death: the Black Gate.
The story and art both combine to create a wistful feeling of nostalgia. One of the best compliments I can give this book is that it often made me feel like I was a child again; a blank slate, relearning some of the harsher truths of life from a gentle and sympathetic parent.
Near the start of the story, Ruth tells Irene that “loneliness is the root of all unkindness”, and Cáceres clearly had that at the front of his mind when creating this tale.
The characters don’t always get along, say the right things or know the best course of action to take, but somehow they all emit a deep gratitude for each other that could only be brought about by a previous experience of loss.
And that’s really what this book is about. Loss, the vacuum it leaves in our lives, and the special people who – if we’re lucky – gather around us to fill that vacuum.
Our two main characters, Irene and Francis, begin the story at odds with each other, frequently lashing out or speaking without thought. Both have experienced deep loss in their own way, and it’s only through this shared experience that they are able to take on this strange, paranormal journey together.
The art is colourful, quaint and inviting – almost deceptively so. At a quick flip through you wouldn’t expect the pages to house quite so many tear-jerk moments or profound revelations, but I was pleasantly surprised, and more than a bit dewy-eyed.
There is a soft, tactile element to the illustration. If you could physically reach into the panels, the towns perennial fog might feel like cotton wool against your fingertips. It’s dreamlike, and a real joy to look at.
This is very much a book of two parts, however, and some readers might find the first part a bit slow. It takes a little while for Irene and Francis to run into any real jeopardy, as a lot of the story is just set-up for the big adventure to come.
But as so much of the set-up is so beautifully drawn, and helps develop the characters enough that I actually care about them when danger does strike, it hardly bothers me that I had to wait for it.
The designs for the souls of the Graylands are creative and varied, and there are some in particular – like the keeper of the forest – who I thought brought a unique, ethereal atmosphere to the story.
The conclusion is extremely poignant, and manages to walk the line between maturity and accessibility. It will neither insult the intelligence of young readers nor scare them away with doom and gloom.
It remains vibrant, hopeful and kind ’til the very last page, and I’m happy to say I immediately noted it as a book I’d like to buy and read to my future kids one day. If you have kids, or even if you just enjoy adorable, emotive art, I fully recommend picking this up.
Verdict
Through the Black Gate is likely the most sincere graphic novel you’ll read in a very long time. Cáceres provides quaint art and charming characters, and somehow juggles these with a gentle lesson on the pitfalls of grief and loneliness. The result is something poignant, personal and vitally hopeful.
⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2
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