Review: Alphabetical Ballad of Carnality

By Sharayah Read On September 3, 2012 · Leave a Comment · In Comic Books

Written and Illustrated By: David Sandlin

A Blab! Picto-Novelette

Published By: Fantagraphics

This profound and rather unorthodox display of genius, touches on many controversial topics in regards to sex, lust, and loyalty. It isn’t called the Alphabetical Ballad of Carnality for nothing – this is an in your face book about a man, his dishonest wife, and his unhealthy obsession with all things sexual.

It has been said that for every action there is a an equal and opposite reaction and after seeing his wife and a priest destroying the vows he and his betrothed exchanged, our Cain begins to analyze his past for hints toward what he had done to deserve such a heart broken fate.

Why forsaken him? Why has his God cast his eyes aside to the horrors this man has seen? Was it his obsessive self-service to thoughts unforgiven, or his prostitutes and obscure desires that damned him to this unrelenting hell? Whatever the answer, one thing was clear: His mind needed purification and upon his wife, his due revenge.

This book is not a comic per say; every scene is free flowing with dialogue that is set to a very creepy, rhythmic pattern. Every page (some two page spreads as well) has one complete image, one clear thought, and is represented by a specific letter in the alphabet. Like a Sesame Street book but, not for kids and a touch more grim.

These ‘word paths’, if you will, can be a bit hard to get through since there is a lot of ambiguous referencing to, often biblical, characters and stories. But, the way the words form around the image provokes an intense focus on the art itself and what not only the current stanza represents but, the meaning behind each photo as well. Thus, making it easy to understand the references you might now otherwise pick up on and forming a smooth flowing read that will send your mind on a express train to loony-ville.

The poetic patterns of this tale leave a haunting reminiscence in your mind by completion of the book. There are parts I will never forget and with each I feel that much more queasy…

…”Uxoricide may be the lonely answer to my heartache.“

Alongside the well thought out, blunt dialogue comes even more shocking and gritty imagery. Floating heads, naked women, bondage, and shlongs in many forms are all to be expected. The faces speak of an unrelenting happiness and desire for the current goings on, allowing for the story to grasp at your nerves and toss you face first into a pit of sex and shame. One that will not only shock you but, keep you caught up in it’s wildness via bright colours and interesting notions.

I think that the main theme or moral to be found in this book is up for high debate. Every time I read it I felt as though this poem took on new meanings and gore. There is such a large amount of detail and work put into each page that you could read it 10 times over and still find something new and exciting within it’s bounds.

This man’s journey into selfishly following religion is a hill steeper than any I have travelled. The extreme lows and scandalous highs produce a roller coaster that is not for the weak of heart or mind. There is no grander damnation than that of ones self, a chore this man had completed long ago and will find reward for upon his inevitable death.

I have never encountered a book this original, thought provoking and eye-opening. It presents a beautifully tormented tale in an entertaining and gritty fashion that will have any fan of obscure culture and works hanging onto every last syllable.

10 shivers and shakes out of 10. A wonderfully haunting and memorable experience into the mind of a man gone wild.