The Hot Breath of War by Trevor Alixopulos
The Hot Breath of War takes seemingly unrelated episodes of life during wartime and entwines them into one narrative. This subtle and well-written novel explores love amidst conflict and the seduction of violence itself. Alixopulos has a cartooning ability well beyond his years and his stories offer some of the most thoughtful insights available to comic book readers. The drawing is loose and comfortable but sharp and graphic. The Hot Breath of War is perfect for fans of Joe Sacco or Jules Feiffer but stands as a unique work of graphic art.Trevor Alixopulos is the creator of numerous minis as well as Mine Tonight, published by Sparkplug Comic Books.
"The Hot Breath of War combines the loose, single-image essay style that was popular briefly in the '50s and '60s and marries it to a series of short stories interconnected by happenstance and theme. That's where things get difficult, because Alixopulos' latest seems like a meditation on life through war and, in one or two places, vice-versa. In some of the more affecting moments, there's a sense that life is way too fragile to insert the horrifying weight of seizure and goal-taking through violence and death into its delicate mix. Yet there's also a vitality present in some of the non-war sequences that relates to the human desire to connect in some way, that suggests the out-sized roles we play in order to place ourselves exactly where we want to be include that of soldier and victim."
Tom Spurgeon at Comics Reporter
$13.00 and postage (128 interior pgs, 6.5" x 7.8", color cover with black and white interiors)
To read a sample from the book click on the cover or here, please.