Thursday, January 13, 2011

Salem Brownstone: All Along the Watchtowers by John Harris Dunning and Nikhil Singh


Salem Brownstone learns about his father's death via telegram. It's quite a surprise, since Salem never knew him. He inherits a gothic mansion "more House of Horrors than swingin' bachelor's pad" as well as the responsibility to safeguard a talisman. The safety of an entire planet is at stake.

Salem receives help from unlikely sources, including a contortionist and a monkeygirl from Dr. Kinoshita's Circus of Unearthly Delights. South African artist Nikhil Singh's meticulous black ink work could also be described as an unearthly delight. It is deliciously macabre and ornate. Salem's dreamlike adventure in his new role as psychopomp leads him to a satisfying, albeit temporary, conclusion. One eyebrow remains cocked the entire time.

Grade 8 - adult.

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