Chronophage
As anyone with more than a few decades under their belt can tell you, life can be complicated. For all the aspirations and dreams that you might have had in your youth, sometimes a bad decision or just dumb luck can send you off in a direction you didn’t anticipate. But what if a chance meeting enabled the possibility of writing a different chapter in your story? What if some of the less favorable moments of your life could be removed or overwritten? What might that be worth to you and what would you be willing to sacrifice for the change? That is part of the tale in Humanoids new book by writer Tim Seeley and artist Ilias Kyriazis entitled Chronophage.
Chloe
In this mind-twisting narrative, a single mother named Chloe is feeling stuck in her less than glamorous life. Working two jobs to make ends meet while looking after her daughter Kai, she feels her life slipping away with really nothing to show for it. Not that she doesn’t love her daughter, but she often wonders what she might have accomplished had she not chosen the path of pregnancy and motherhood. Perhaps she might have been able to make her dream of being a fashion designer a reality. As it is, she spends what free time she can muster cutting up clothes and sewing the pieces into new designs. That way, she feels like her dream isn’t dead…just on hiatus.
A Chance Meeting Changes Everything
However, sometimes it only takes a moment for your life to change. In Chloe’s case, a near miss of what could have been a tragic accident places her in a bar and a meeting with a mysterious stranger. One whose charm and good looks makes Chloe do things she normally wouldn’t. Before long, she is spending more and more time with the man whose name is Heath. But as the sexual relationship continues, Chloe is suffering from gruesome visions in her sleep. She is seeing people who she feels she should know but can’t seem to place them. Who are these people she is seeing in her dreams? Why are they decaying and dissolving in front of her? Before long, the mystery deepens, and the visions become worse and more horrific. Is Heath the cause? However, while she ponders… she is experiencing a renaissance in her clothing designs. but is the trade-off worth it and who else might she forget along the way? Such are the effects when dealing with a Chronophage (a vampire like sucker of time).
Thoughts
This is a mind-twisting, horrific deep dive into aspects of what makes up one’s life. Writer Tim Seeley takes a well thought out approach, as Chloe’s life is one that many people can relate to. It was a life full of hopes and dreams and of using her talents to make a better life for herself. But once she became pregnant in her teens, all of those dreams were put on hold. Instead, she centered her life on taking care of her daughter as a single mom. Even if that meant taking on two jobs and double shifts. It is only natural that she would wonder what could have been.
What makes a life?
As it was, she still created in what free time she had. Using her method of cutting up clothes and using the pieces to create new fashions. In fact, it became her life’s mantra, as passed on by HER mother: “Anytime you look at life as one big thing, it becomes overwhelming. You have to look at it as little pieces. Little pieces of all kinds of different shapes. Some of them are so beautiful, and some of them are ugly. All you can do is try to accept them for what they are and rearrange them into a pattern, that in the end, is something that is yours.” That is symbolic of her clothes, and her life. So, it was no wonder she was susceptible to Heath and other possibilities. Seeley brings this to life, wrapped in an intense horror wrapper that really challenges the mind and the eye.
Mixing the Horrific with the Sensual
Speaking of the eye, Chronophage made for a challenging job for the artist to combine the sensual with the horrific. It would be hard to imagine anyone doing a better job than that turned in by Illias Kyriazis. He captured the grim and dirty view of Chloe’s present life as well as the sexual aspect of her new relationship with Heath. But where he really excelled was in the horrific visions that came from the Chronophage’s influence. These were ghastly and intense panels that captured brilliantly the nightmares Chloe was enduring while intertwining her attempts to rationalize them. It really was some awesome work using different perspectives with a practiced hand.
So, if you’re into the best combination of horror with the intellectual and an ending that encapsulates both, Humanoid’s Chronophage is the book for you. Coming February 15th to a comic shop near you. Also, check out our interview with writer Tim Seeley here.
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Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
