From Publishers Weekly
Collecting storyboards and comics from the animated series created for the Independent Film Channel along with short stories previously presented in Mome, this anthology spotlights Shaw's complex visual poetry about human relationships. The book opens with alternating full stories and storyboards taken from Shaw's work on his animated project, about a special agent in the far future sent to impersonate a robotic life model at an art school in order to secretly break the custom against drawing real human beings. Shaw's artwork creates a unique, fantastic future and gives the reader insight into his creative process through its presentation of multiple stages of production. The rest of the book assembles short pieces on how people relate to each other. Often with elements of science fiction and distorted time presentation, the best of these, First Son of Terra Two combines both into a story of a man and a woman from different worlds, each traveling in an opposite direction in time. In a stunning display of visual creativity, each story has its own distinct artistic style and presentation format. Color and shape serve as language as much as if not more than written words in this striking collection. (Jan.)
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Review
"[C]ombines original storyboards for the web series and collects several of Shaw’s short stories, all of them unique [and] gut-punchingly wondrous."
― Entertainment Weekly
"Dash Shaw is an utterly brilliant young cartoonist who has, in a few short years, advanced from the academic experiments of his earlier work... into a formalist genius whose skills encompass both a natural gift for color and a feel for subtle, indirect characterization."
― Ed Howard, Only the Cinema
"Just what is Dash Shaw on? And may I please have some? ...The Unclothed Man in the 35th Century A.D. [is] an anything-goes anthology quite attractively packaged by Fantagraphics Books... Yeah, [the title story] is different. Yeah, it’s awesome.... stunning."
― Rod Lott, Bookgasm
"[C]ollects Shaw’s acclaimed, genre-bending short stories from MOME, including “Look Forward, First Son of Terra Two,” a remarkable story of two lovers traveling in opposite directions…in time."
― Graphic Novel Reporter
"Unclothed Man is an interesting, if quirky, collection of the work of a cartoonist who is still getting stronger and more confident."
― Andrew Wheeler, ComicMix
"The Unclothed Man does reveal a future master in his formative stages… Shaw may be the cartoonist of the rising generation most capable of delivering a long-form work with the formal daring and humanity of a David Mazzucchelli or an Art Spiegelman."
― The Onion A.V. Club
"Dash Shaw seems set to become a name to be reckoned with in comics...a wonderful introduction to Shaw’s work, and should certainly find its way into the hands of those craving more."
― Grovel
About the Author
Dash Shaw lives in Richmond, VA. He was a 2010 Sundance Labs fellow and a 2014–2015 Cullman Center fellow at the New York Public Library. A cartoonist, animator, and illustrator, he was born in Los Angeles and attended the School of Visual Arts.
