Eel Mansions

by Derek Van Gieson

"Van Gieson thinks like cinema. Big. Epic. For the reader, the question is simple: do you wanna ride along? VROOM!"—Comics Bulletin

Eel Mansions, Derek Van Gieson's first full-length graphic novel, is a supernatural soap opera noir. Set in Mill City: a grimy place inhabited by new wave satanists, secret agents, booze-hounds, record-store clerks, conspiracy theorists, murderers, and cartoonists. Derek Van Gieson skillfully unweaves a knotted sweater of intrigue, suspense, and dark humor.

Derek Van Gieson is a Minneapolis-based artist, writer, and musician. His work appeared in the New York Times, the New Yorker, and the Stranger.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels Comics, Comix

240 pages, Paperback

First published November 11, 2014

Reviews

[Whitney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is on par with a lot of the underground comix I read in the 90's. It's half "huh, that's really interesting," and half "WTF did I just read?" I liked the art--lots of variation. Even though it was surreal and "out there," there was just enough of a story to compel me to read the whole thing.

[Vi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, I don't know many teens who would get half the cultural references. I don't know many people period who would get half of them. I have no idea how you think this big with this many tangents. It's like reading Pynchon, but since it's just small squares it isn't quite as overwhelming.

More of an adult read.

[Dean Simons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weird and hilarious.

[Teawench · Rating 2 out of 5]

What the fuck did I just read?

[Maggie A · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Great art, fun story, and cool to read something from a local writer!

[Joshua Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yeah, I didn't understand this at all. I liked the Eric Clapton jokes tho

[Daniel Elkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

In our long love affair with Derek Van Gieson’s Eel Mansions, my friend and I have tried to label it in many ways. From a “paen to the anxiety of influence” to a “canticle to the creative act” to a “big OM for idiosyncrasy and self-expression”– we did our best to encapsulate the groove Van Gieson is throwing down with this book. But really, after all of it, we ended up with just the brittle edges of the brownie in the cake pan. While delicious, our declarations miss the moist substance in the center.

Because Eel Mansions is more than just the sugar and the eggs and the butter and the chocolate, no matter how much you mix it or how long it’s left in the oven. A matter of fact, it’s more than just dessert. Eel Mansions is a full fucking meal. It’s got ingredients you’ve never even heard of before, let alone tasted. Van Gieson is pulling shit off the back shelves that even grandma didn’t know were there, and he’s using cooking techniques they sure as hell don’t teach you in culinary school.

Eel Mansions is a comic book about everything churning in your stomach as your digestive juices flow. It will either leave you satiated or nauseous depending on your palate, but either way, it’s a meal you will never forget. In the end, let’s just cook it up and say this: EEL MANSIONS IS FUCKING BEAUTIFULLY BONKERS and one of the best comics of the first half of this decade.