Mycelium Wassonii

by Brian Blomerth

À l’heure où la recherche autour des psychotropes dans le traitement de nombreuses maladies mentales revient en force, le rôle essentiel joué par Valentina et R. Gordon Wasson dans l’étude des champignons psychoactifs reste pourtant peu connu du grand public. Le parcours des Wasson démarre en 1927 dans une cabane du nord de l'État de New York, pendant la lune de miel du couple, où Valentina réussit à vaincre la mycophobie de son mari. La découverte de l’univers des champignons est un véritable coup de foudre pour Gordon qui, banquier de son état, consacre désormais tout son temps libre à la mycologie. Quelques années plus tard, le couple compile un livre de cuisine qui peu à peu se transforme en essai, fusion de mycologie et anthropologie. Leurs recherches les amènent au Mexique, dans l’état d’Oaxaca, où ils rencontrent la chamane mazatèque María Sabina et étudient l'emploi cérémonial des champignons sacrés ; Gordon est l’un des premiers Blancs à participer à un rituel mazatèque et documente, dans un historique reportage publié dans Life, son expérience de consommation de psilocybes devenant le pionnier de l’usage des champignons psychoactifs en occident. Dans un récit où on croise la C.I.A., l’écrivain Robert Graves et la banque Jp Morgan, Brian Blomerth retrace avec rigueur et une bonne dose d’humour la fascinante aventure humaine et scientifique de Valentina et Gordon Wasson. Blomerth fait preuve d’un rare talent en déclinant à l’infini, avec des solutions à chaque fois surprenantes, une même structure narrative en vis-à-vis sur deux pages ; sa créativité, sa maîtrise de multiples techniques et son incroyable palette font de la lecture de Mycelium Wassonii une formidable expérience visuelle.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Nonfiction, Art, History, Nature, Biography

224 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2021

Reviews

[Britt]

Came for Blomerth’s prismatic illustrations, stayed for his recentering of Valentina Pavlovna Wasson within the scientific narrative

[Simone]

Visually composed in such a vibrant and whimsical way, just like his previous depiction of Albrect Hoffman's Bicycle Day adventure. The story itself is one lesser known but significantly important to the psychedelic revolution in America. Much kudos to the the men (Brian Blomerth and Paul Stammets) who used their words to point out and rightfully give credit and thanks to the powerful women who made this story happen.

[Jonáš Gruska]

After falling in love with Brian's book about Albert Hoffman, I was super excited to grab this one. It did not disappoint — as I was already familiar with the main plot from other reading, it was particularly exciting to see Brian pinpointing the important parts of the story in captivating way. Would recommend to anyone even slightly interested in the history of psychoactive mushrooms in the western world.

[s]

♡〰♡

[Drewberry]

Full Of Magic(Mushrooms)

If you’ve read Brian Blomerth’s previous graphic novel Bicycle Day, you’re already familiar with his luxurious and painstakingly rendered art style. He’s followed it up with another incredible and richly detailed novel about another psychotropic substance- psilocybin mushrooms. But unlike Bicycle Day, the focus of this graphic novel is less the discovery or effect of a particular substance, and moreso the relationship between the couple who popularized psychedelic mushrooms in the West.

Valentina and Gordon Wasson were amateur mycologists who, through various introductions and researching tips, conducted a large amount of research into a completely new branch of study- ethnomycology. They observed the use of psilocybin mushrooms in Mexico, and brought the knowledge of these experiences, as well as the mushrooms themselves, back with them to the United States. This combination of cultural anthropology and mycology was a shared bond between them for their entire marriage, and the love they had for each other and their research comes through in every panel.

However, the Wassons' research was not perfectly clean, and Blomerth doesn’t shy away from addressing their nefarious sponsors (the CIA) and the damage that the wide publication of their trips to Mexico had on the indigenous communities they visited. It’s a story of colonialism as much as it is the Wassons' relationship, and is one of the reasons that this book is deceptively simple and has many layers underneath the surface. As beautiful as it is to look at, it does ask difficult questions and leaves a lot of room for the reader to reflect.

But once again, as wasBicycle Day before it, this book is a visual feast and a testament to Brian Blomerth’s ability as an artist. Every bit of space has been considered, and within its neat lines and templated curves, you can see tiny, tiny discrepancies that show he drew every part of this by hand. It makes the work that much more impressive and amazing to look at, and you’ll never run out of details to find. Additionally, the color palette trades the synthetic neon of Bicycle Day’s acid trip for lush, natural earthtones and watercolors. It matches the magic mushroom effects perfectly, and is another brilliant touch that builds on the work of Bicycle Day but distinguishes itself as its own uniquely rendered masterpiece.I couldn’t recommend this more to anyone who’s interested at all in mushrooms, or simply wants an amazingly rendered world to explore.

[Logann]

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[Emma Beckerle]

Finished in one sitting. The illustrations were amazing. Loved seeing the story told in this way.

[Chanel Chapters]

Psychedelics, pioneers, and a mushroom rave in comic form
Illustrations are STUNNING 🌈 🍄

[Aaron Esthelm]

Big fan of their work

[Megan O'Hara]

i finished a book and it has nothing to do with the fact that this has very little words in it.

kind of hard to rate! not a ton of story here but i am excited to learn more about the mycologists mentioned and the art categorically rules. worthwhile imo!

[Jennifer Rivas]

If I were to base my review solely on the artwork, it would be a 5 star without question. I was somewhat familiar with the story of the Wasson Family, and the magic mushrooms they researched and their "studies" in Mexico. However, this book seemed to romanticize the idea that the Wassons were generally good people trying to learn all they could about mushrooms. Maria Sabina was a Mexican Healer who was known to never turn away someone needing help. So when Wasson came through with bogus reasons for needing healing, Maria Sabina aided him. This turned into the exploitation of the sacred mushroom for recreational use in the 1960's-1970's which ultimately ended in the downfall of Maria Sabina. And for this reason I could not justify rating this book a 5 star.

[B. Rule]

I thought the art captured the... phenomenological particularities of the subject better in this volume than Blomerth's book on LSD. The pages explode with color and are stuffed with charming details in a way that feels more integrated and confident than the previous book. Blomerth weaves in elements of Russian and Mesoamerican folk art to his psychedelic landscapes, which feels appropriate given the theme of appropriation running through the story.

I would have liked more focus on Maria Sabina and Valentina Wasson, women who drive the narrative but remain slightly obscured from the history. Blomerth rightfully depicts Tina Wasson's role in kicking off the Wassons' mycophilia, although she later recedes into a supporting character for Gordon's hero's journey in a disappointing way. A cool project and a worthy read despite those minor quibbles, Blomerth has produced a satisfyingly idiosyncratic and ramshackle depiction of two fascinating chapters in the history of psychedelic research.

[M Aghazarian]

Psychedelic rubber hose furries

[Katrina McCollough]

I’m more into the remediation sides of mycology (not so much the psychedelic) so I had no idea who these people were at first. Really love the art style and the mini history lesson.

[cait loughran]

MUSHROOMS

[Lolo S.]

What a lovely book. The text is sort of sparse, but the illustrations and the structure of the book do a lot of the narrative storytelling. The illustrations are far out. I tried to challenge myself to look at the pictures for tiny hidden details, which helped me slow down and absorb the ok more. I really appreciate that the author centered the stories of women who are often neglected in the annals of history and psychedelics.

[Renée Davis]

This graphic novel is highly recommended for readers interested in the history of the psychedelic movement in North America. It ventures into the story of Gordon Wasson and his fateful visit to Maria Sabina. It emphasizes the role of Tina Wasson and Maria Sabina in Gordon's work, giving them proper credit in a narrative that has been whitewashed. The graphics are simply stunning and grab you immediately. This book is easily read in one sitting and has great reread potential.

[Tim Ballard]

Loved the imaginative compositions and little details such as the language invented for the mushrooms. This is usually very entertaining and fun but as far as storytelling goes it is pretty sparse. So for a playful psychedelic romp through the story of Wasson's psilocybin experience it gets 4 stars, for learning the story, 3 stars.

[Rick Ray]

Brian Blomerth's Mycelium Wassonii is a biographical graphic novel following married couple Robert Gordon Wasson and Valentina "Tina" Pavlovna, the ethnomycologists who introduced psychoactive mushrooms to the United States. Opening with their honeymoon in the Catskill Mountains, Tina forages for wild mushrooms to prepare for dinner. Gordon is perturbed by the idea of eating wild mushrooms, believing them to be poisonous and filthy. It's not until he sees Tina is perfectly well the following day that he begins to take an interest in the mushrooms. The story progresses towards their subsequent career developments, where Gordon's research (funded substantially by the CIA) makes strides in the fields of ethnobotany and anthropology, along with critical understanding of the psychoactive elements of many mushroom species. What Brian Blomerth's Mycelium Wassonii also does, however, is critically lay out how important Tina's contributions to the field were, undoing the commonplace reduction of a woman's contribution to the scientific field. Beyond just their scientific collaborations, the story also takes some look at their upbringings and other light musings about their lives.

What Brian Blomerth does effectively is deliver narration-heavy exposition in intriguing ways. It helps that Blomerth's illustrations utilize a supremely attractive artistic style, completely unique to that of any other cartoonist working today. This is undoubtedly an educational comic, but Blomerth's narrations are entertaining and even mildly humorous. The colors are vibrant, with watercolor paintings and textures supplementing the already heavy use of colored pencils. Blomerth's linework loops around a lot, but it's spectacularly precise. Coupled with the strong research, Brian Blomerth's Mycelium Wassonii is simply a brilliant comic, in that it delivers the information in an easy to digest way while also looking sublime.

[Eduardo De Esesarte]

Beautiful illustrations narrate the story of Robert Gordon Wasson and his wife Valentina Pavlona Wasson. As pioneers on the field of psychodelic mushrooms we go through their journey experimenting with mushrooms.

The drawings on here are superb. And I will definitely check more books by him (he has some books on LSD and dolphin communication experimentation). I would wish a bit more of the story, but it is a difficult task.

The biggest sin of this book is white-washing the image of the Wasson's, particularly with regards of their relationship with Maria Sabina. The Wasson's abused Sabina's trust and published photos of her practices without her consent, they published her identity to the world which lead to a huge hippie drug tourism boom in the region. This created a lot of anger from the community towards Sabina, the increased tourism damaged community life and led to more government oversight and policing.

Maria Sabina was ostracised from her community as a result of the Wasson's actions, she got her house burned down, she got sent to prison, and her son was murdered. The Wasson's did not share any of the profits from their books with her and she died in severe poverty. The burning of Sabina's house is shown in the book, but the mistreatment of the Wasson's to Sabina ends with the character of Sabina addressing the audience with the following text:

<"Oh... Me? I'm Fine... The town built me a new house, they were just scared..."> Her son got killed, she died poor, this is not a fair recollection of the real events.

The Wasson's are complex characters and their contributions to psychological mushroom studies should be celebrated, however there is no need of hiding the more problematic sides of their behaviour, particularly with regards of Maria Sabina.

[David Karlsson]

Det känns som att svamp är något få personer är likgiltiga inför. Antingen gillar man det väldigt mycket, många till besatthet, eller så vägrar man att befatta sig med det. Kanske är det att hårdra det något, men det är något med hur svampen varken är djur eller växt som antingen fascinerar eller skrämmer tänker jag.

För paret Wasson som den här boken är en slags biografi över var det i alla fall så. Tina kom ursprungligen från Ryssland och älskade svamp, medan Gordon som var amerikan tvärtom hade fått lära sig att svamp var något farligt. Han lät sig dock övertalas av sin fru och tillsammans kom de att ägna sitt liv åt att forska kring svampar och då särskilt de psykedeliska, samt om svamparnas kulturella användning (de myntade begreppet etnomykologi).

Jag skriver "en slags biografi", för även om boken beskriver verkliga händelser och tecknar en bild över parets gemensamma liv är det den grafiska framställningen som står i förgrunden och som i sig nästan är som att trippa på en näve svampar. Det är färgsprakande, fantasifullt och en fröjd för ögonen! Paret och de flesta andra i boken är tecknade som hundar med såväl armar och tungor som sträcker sig hit och dit. Det är på sätt och vis svårt att ta på allvar, men återigen otroligt snyggt och inte utan att man lär sig något på köpet.

Lystring fortsätter att översätta och ge ut fantastiskt fina böcker. En sak att slå ett extra slag för här är till exempel handtextningen av Johan Andreasson som är ypperlig.

[Isabella Akhtarshenas]

I snagged the last copy of this book that was available at an illustration conference in KC. I’m so grateful that I did because I loved this book so much that I bought more copies just to share with friends.

The artwork in this book does an excellent job of setting the scene, conveying emotion and featuring little special details that you only notice if you’re really looking. Not only are each of the illustrations absolutely stunning, but the storyline is very well done. It’s ultimately about the white exploitation of psilocybin mushrooms from indigenous cultures. The ending was so sad that it brought me to tears. I think about this book every time I take a mushroom trip, and I feel grateful for the cultural information I learned from it.

[Rey]

Visually breathtaking, this book pays homage to the pioneers of psychedelic research, the Wassons- a couple bound by a mutual interest, mushrooms! This is a love story of two mycophiles as much as it is a recalling of history. I particularly enjoy the correct attributions towards Valentina 'Tina' Pavlovna Wasson and María Sabina the curandera who aided the couple in their exploration sessions, too often women are omitted from narratives.
Take a trip with Brian Blomerth's one of a kind illustration style, their endearment towards the project is evident throughout and especially shows in the notes (and confessions) that end the book.

[ween_silyums]

This is a really fun book. I first picked it up for the trippy artwork, but was happy to see that it does have a clear storyline. Reading the introduction was especially helpful. It retells the true story of R. Gordon and Valentina Wasson and their contribution to fungi research and enthusiasm, especially around popularizing psychedelic mushrooms. As a book, I felt it was very suitable to tell their story through the psychedelic drawings. The story is really sweet at times and reminds me a lot of early cartoons. There is a playfulness and honesty to the artwork which isn't always found in graphic novels. I highly recommend for anyone who also enjoys mycology or cool psychedelic artwork.

[Elizabeth]

What an....interesting book. I was unfamiliar with this author's work prior to reading this book, and now that I've read one of his works, I can't say I'm a fan. I was going to read a few pages, but I consumed the book so quickly that I thought I might as well finish it. Yes, there aren't many words in this book, and I'm slightly guilty for not giving the illustrations the attention they probably deserve, but....eh.

I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who might like this, but it's just not for me.

[Danny Mindich]

damn the art in this book is beautiful. lots of nice lil touches between the mushroom’s language and the psychonaut experience. telling the history of the west’s discovery of psychedelic mushrooms, the narrative is tightly couched in the romance of R. Gordon Wasson and his wife Tina Pavlovna. CIA involvement was glossed over and the controversy maría sabina experienced in her life was addressed but lacked emotional resonance. overall a really beautiful effort at telling a limited psychedelic history. i’d want a whole series!

[Max Lavergne]

Brian Blomerth's art is beautiful, intricate and fascinating and conveys a sense of something mysterious and magical, which is wonderful. I got this on the strength of the art but was fascinated by the story of the Wassons - dedicated kooks who follow their passions like the Wassons did are fascinating. I felt reading this that the genuinely tragic aspects of their lives perhaps did not land in the same way as their other milestones, but this remains a beautiful and compelling book.

[Rosie]

The art is pretty magnificent and is what carries the book, especially the drawings of mushrooms. I’m not sure I’m convinced by the “everyone is a dog” illustration approach, but sure. The writing is mostly non existent, and you don’t really learn much about the Wassons that you don’t already get in the brief introduction by Paul Stamets. A decent quick read, worth perusing but not heavy in substance.

[Jo]

I expected the visuals of this graphic novel to be a bit more on point with the typical psychedelic aesthetic, instead I found something more off-putting: droopy dog folks, clashing colors, ornate oddness, but it all seems to represent, at least from my limited experience, a more familiar psychedelic aesthetic. This saves the book from convention, and makes it all the more interesting to look at in this tale of the mushroom heard around the world.

[Jordan Steyer]

Brian Blomerth's illustrations are vibrant, gorgeous, and informative. Each of his novels teaches something about the use of psychedelic drugs.

Mycelium Wassonii covers the history of the use of mushrooms in the United States. Gordon and Valentina Wasson are known for bringing psychedelic mushrooms to mainstream American media. Together, they wrote about the culture of mushrooms and spent their lives researching them.

A wonderful and beautiful history!