This graphic novel takes us gently
down a “rabbit hole” into the museum’s endless subbasements. Which museum? The answer is a taste of things to come. Although called by many names, “they say that
these names are nothing but anagrams of the museum’s real name, which has been
forgotten.”
Archivist Edeus Volmer and his
assistant Leonard arrive on a stormy night to begin an inventory of the
sub-basements. The novel’s panels
proceed with beautiful pools and avenues of pale light set within umber shadows
that often recede with a cinematic sense of distance in space. Months, and longer, pass as the archivists
travel the basements. In some, a curator entertains us with wit on art and
memory. Others provoke us with insights on originality, and creativity. In the “restoration workshop” experts view
their work with small headlamps because, “for restorers light is the enemy of
color”, and “darkness preserves colors”.
In the “department of copies” the curator regrets that the practice of
copying the masters isn’t fashionable. “Copying
isn’t original any longer.” In the
“department of archives” we watch Volmer and Leonard fly on a rolling book
ladder, their coats flapping like superheroes’ capes through the upper stories
of a city of archives.
Finally, Leonard comes to tell Volmer
that this “limitless universe” suggests that an inaccessible “essential”
exists. Being inaccessible, limitless
paths to travel are all the more important.
I was entertained and captivated by every path.
Review by Ken
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