Crease

A collection of cartoonists adapting classic works of transgressive writing, printed on lovely newsprint. Comics have become incredibly safe, filled with anodyne personal anecdotes. While there’s been some pushback, and we’re starting to see a turn toward creative freedom, there’s still a noticeable gap in accessible work that tackles sticky themes (desire, violence, crime, fascism) in ways that feel both artistic and thoughtful. Crease feels like the beginning of something new.

Edited by Austin English and published by Domino, Crease is packed with careful beauty on every page. It features a caricature of Jean Genet, with his fountain pen ejaculating on the cover, by Caroline Sury, and a textured, abstract painting of a woman by Marlene Fontara on the back. The inside covers showcase two quirky comics by Lillian Ansell: a top-hat-clad man in stockings overwhelmed with guilt on the front, and on the back, a limerick about a man blowing up sex dolls. Contributors include:

• The Thief’s Journal by Jean Genet, adapted by John Hankiewicz. Hankiewicz beautifully captures the criminal and strange eroticism of Genet, rendered in dizzyingly intricate hatching, surrounded by sparse negative space.

• My Secret Life by Anonymous, adapted by Ian Sundahl. The classic erotic novel is reimagined in a stark modern world of baseball-capped Johns, boats parked on streets, and women’s heels stepping on cinderblocks, their actions hidden behind picket fences.

• Fear Visits Love, stories by Alfred Jarry, adapted by Chris Cajero Cilla. A liquid tapestry of overwhelming texture, moving in a stream, with animals hidden in the leaves, bricks, woven thread, and tree roots.

• Blue of Noon by Georges Bataille, adapted by Pris Genet. An attempt to capture Bataille’s expression of fear, powerlessness, and apathy in the face of rising global fascism. Romantic schemes seem frivolous and stupid when confronted with the reality of what’s unfolding.

• Notes from Abroad, adapted from Harriet Sohmers Zwerling by E.A. Bethea. A selection from the diaries of the bohemian memoirist, with coarse illustrations and a rich weaving of experiences alongside further context.