Writer/Artist: Matt Coyle
Publisher: Mamtor
Price: $17.95
Release Date: February 2007
Worry Doll is a rather strange book. Let’s just get that out of the way right at the start, this is a distinctly adult tale in the way it approaches it style and story. Worry Doll makes Jack Kerouac seem like a walk in the park – this is the ultimate weird on the road story.
Matt Coyle has spent the last three years of his life (well, his spare time at least, he has a real life and everything) drawing the images that make up this book. It serves well to note that he drew them once more because if you’ve seen any of them it immediately looks as thought he has actually photographed the entire thing – it’s that detailed. Coyle strives for perfection in his artwork, and the sense of realism is staggering, truly staggering. This immediately becomes disturbing as soon as you associate the imagery with the accompanying words.
Worry Doll is essentially a puppet road-show that encompasses the anxieties of fear, mental health and, of course, worries. Worry dolls are found in some cultures as dolls that are placed under your pillow that will worry for you, enabling you to sleep and wake care-free. The dolls portrayed here a nothing like this, instead they are extensions of a twisted human psyche, following the protagonist who happens to be a serial killer as he travels from his last slaughter.
The dialogue, or prose - as it accompanies the images rather than overlays it, is very strange. It seems to chart a schizophrenic holding a conversation with himself (“Besides, I later came to realise that my true strength lay in not realising who I really was”), whilst also suggesting that the dolls themselves are characters that interact with the protagonist. Coyle created the art first, and the text is loosely tied into what is being portrayed whilst being ambiguous enough to carry out the task of moving the reader though the book. The comparasions here are limited, but Worry Doll finds itself in good company, Violent Cases is the first that springs to mind mainly due to the Gaimen/McKean approach to graphic novels. This book is a perfect fit for Liam Sharp’s Mamtor line, entirely quirky, disturbing, and boasting hugely impressive artwork.
Hopefully this book will find the readership it deserves, whilst the price may be a sticking point for some people, it should not dissuade you from owning one of the most unique graphic novels I have read in many a year.
James Dodsworth - Born and raised in Yorkshire, residing in London since 2000, James has a Law Degree and works for the Anti-Financial Crime Office of a International Asset Management Company. He is a writer and editor for FractalMatter.com.
But his main claim to fame is living next to the pub where Shaun of the Dead was conceived.