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Vagankov : A Fable
A strange fellow on a strange alternate plane during a strange non-descript epoch provides strangers with exactly what they require.
112 pages, Paperback
Published October 10, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 28, 2026
Firstly, a big thanks to NetGalley for this book. I am sure I wouldn’t have chosen this on my own.
And most probably regretted not picking up later. I would have missed a book with deep meaning and insight.
At first glance this is a very short crisp book with few lines and fewer illustrations. But it needs more than one read to understand and assimilate.
Since my honest review is needed here, I will be blatantly honest.
The first thing that captured my attention was the basic, bare, black and white illustrations of the same objects, person and patterns, but repeated in different combinations and superimpositions over each other. In one page there is a minuscule version which slowly magnifies in subsequent pages to the bigger picture. The plot is rhetoric and the lines are repeated. But the book implies a depth that is bound to be understood only when read again and again.
Most reviews on this book reiterated that this is the story of a “strange fellow on a strange alternate plane during a non-descript epoch provides strangers with exactly what they require.”
I don’t feel this is a story of fantasy or an alternate/parallel plane. I deduce a satirical implication in this book, applicable to any commoner with or without a strange attribute.
A normal talented person with an altruistic nature is bent on helping the people and society around him. But the end result of his help might not always be gratitude as we see in the graphic novel. Even though the outcome is the same each time, that doesn’t hamper the man’s intentions. He is a true altruist and continues his good deeds. And this is where I turn inwards to look at our nature. This is where several questions are raised. Does altruism need to be rewarded? Where is the demarcation between benevolence and selfishness? Should society influence and changes a person’s character?
There is no true ending to this book. The story goes on and on just as life goes on.
Vagankov is a huge canvas of modern art, the perceptions and inferences are subject to the viewers discretion. So partake the view and enjoy the experience.
My gratitude to the creators of this book, that is quite deep and perceptive, and needs a moment of silence for understanding.
And most probably regretted not picking up later. I would have missed a book with deep meaning and insight.
At first glance this is a very short crisp book with few lines and fewer illustrations. But it needs more than one read to understand and assimilate.
Since my honest review is needed here, I will be blatantly honest.
The first thing that captured my attention was the basic, bare, black and white illustrations of the same objects, person and patterns, but repeated in different combinations and superimpositions over each other. In one page there is a minuscule version which slowly magnifies in subsequent pages to the bigger picture. The plot is rhetoric and the lines are repeated. But the book implies a depth that is bound to be understood only when read again and again.
Most reviews on this book reiterated that this is the story of a “strange fellow on a strange alternate plane during a non-descript epoch provides strangers with exactly what they require.”
I don’t feel this is a story of fantasy or an alternate/parallel plane. I deduce a satirical implication in this book, applicable to any commoner with or without a strange attribute.
A normal talented person with an altruistic nature is bent on helping the people and society around him. But the end result of his help might not always be gratitude as we see in the graphic novel. Even though the outcome is the same each time, that doesn’t hamper the man’s intentions. He is a true altruist and continues his good deeds. And this is where I turn inwards to look at our nature. This is where several questions are raised. Does altruism need to be rewarded? Where is the demarcation between benevolence and selfishness? Should society influence and changes a person’s character?
There is no true ending to this book. The story goes on and on just as life goes on.
Vagankov is a huge canvas of modern art, the perceptions and inferences are subject to the viewers discretion. So partake the view and enjoy the experience.
My gratitude to the creators of this book, that is quite deep and perceptive, and needs a moment of silence for understanding.
July 1, 2026
In Moscow there is a cemetery called "Vagankov's." It was established by Catherine the Great to hold the remains of those who had succumbed to the plague. During the Great Purge, it's said to have been a site where the executed were forced to dig their own graves. (I mostly remember it for being the burial place of legendary singer-songwriter Vysotsky, as well as other famous people like the poet Yesenin.)
What was intended by giving the protagonist the name "Vagankov" (if anything) is unclear - "digging their own graves" might be closest to it. Vagankov appears in several realms (that remind me somewhat of Mortis Ghost's OFF) and, saintlike, grants the unhealthy occupants their unhealthy desires. It's up to scrutiny whether Vagankov really is trying his best to help people - those he assists seem to think he's playing the devil, and he is punished accordingly. In the cryptic ending, he meets people who are unable to hurt him in the customary way (you'll see what I mean when you get there), and he grants them the ability to do so. Maybe it touches on Girard's scapegoat theory? I don't know, a lot of this went over my head. I did find the first realm of people, who seem primarily interested in polishing their autobiographies, kind of haunting, as a writer who's fallen into the habit of going out and having experiences primarily to inform my art and not for their own sake. I had to sit and chew on that for a while.
Ultimately, it's not a waste of time. The fable will give you something to think about for a few minutes, but I don't think anyone will be strongly emotionally moved, it's a bit too opaque for that, although I found the ending a little touching. You'll want to go over this one a second and third time.
What was intended by giving the protagonist the name "Vagankov" (if anything) is unclear - "digging their own graves" might be closest to it. Vagankov appears in several realms (that remind me somewhat of Mortis Ghost's OFF) and, saintlike, grants the unhealthy occupants their unhealthy desires. It's up to scrutiny whether Vagankov really is trying his best to help people - those he assists seem to think he's playing the devil, and he is punished accordingly. In the cryptic ending, he meets people who are unable to hurt him in the customary way (you'll see what I mean when you get there), and he grants them the ability to do so. Maybe it touches on Girard's scapegoat theory? I don't know, a lot of this went over my head. I did find the first realm of people, who seem primarily interested in polishing their autobiographies, kind of haunting, as a writer who's fallen into the habit of going out and having experiences primarily to inform my art and not for their own sake. I had to sit and chew on that for a while.
Ultimately, it's not a waste of time. The fable will give you something to think about for a few minutes, but I don't think anyone will be strongly emotionally moved, it's a bit too opaque for that, although I found the ending a little touching. You'll want to go over this one a second and third time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 8, 2026
Being a good influence is harder than it looks sometimes.
This was a good example of how modern satire can poke fun at ideas that have become so widespread in western culture that many folks don’t necessarily think twice about them. I grinned and nodded along as Vagankov travelled from place to place and attempted to improve the lives of various groups of people he met along the way.
I must admit to being a little confused by the beginning because of how it threw the reader straight into Vagankov’s adventures without explaining what was going on. To be honest, I scrolled back to the first page just to make sure I hadn’t missed a tiny row of text or something early on as I was not expecting such an immediate start. While the reason for this was partially explained later on, it was something I wish I’d known about ahead of time.
It’s difficult to discuss the message of this piece without sharing spoilers, but what I can say is that it echoed throughout every page once I knew what to look for. This is exactly the sort of stuff I love to discover when trying new authors, and it really helped to make everything gel together in the end. It worked as both a commentary on human nature as well as an explanation for why Vagankov was such a vagabond and what he hoped might happen every time he found a new group of people to get to know.
Vagankov – A Fable made me wish for a sequel.
This was a good example of how modern satire can poke fun at ideas that have become so widespread in western culture that many folks don’t necessarily think twice about them. I grinned and nodded along as Vagankov travelled from place to place and attempted to improve the lives of various groups of people he met along the way.
I must admit to being a little confused by the beginning because of how it threw the reader straight into Vagankov’s adventures without explaining what was going on. To be honest, I scrolled back to the first page just to make sure I hadn’t missed a tiny row of text or something early on as I was not expecting such an immediate start. While the reason for this was partially explained later on, it was something I wish I’d known about ahead of time.
It’s difficult to discuss the message of this piece without sharing spoilers, but what I can say is that it echoed throughout every page once I knew what to look for. This is exactly the sort of stuff I love to discover when trying new authors, and it really helped to make everything gel together in the end. It worked as both a commentary on human nature as well as an explanation for why Vagankov was such a vagabond and what he hoped might happen every time he found a new group of people to get to know.
Vagankov – A Fable made me wish for a sequel.
July 6, 2026
An illustrated, satirical fable about a strange man, who keeps helping people. It's more complicated, but let's allow the reader to find out.
5 stars, ignoring personal preference, because the story does exactly what a fable needs to do: Encourage thinking. Multiple reads recommended.
The art itself is simple and straightforward, interloped with casual narration, and again, it achieves what it needs to, and I don't think we can require it to do more.
I hope this piece will find its readers! Thanks to NetGalley and publishers for an ARC for an honest review.
5 stars, ignoring personal preference, because the story does exactly what a fable needs to do: Encourage thinking. Multiple reads recommended.
The art itself is simple and straightforward, interloped with casual narration, and again, it achieves what it needs to, and I don't think we can require it to do more.
I hope this piece will find its readers! Thanks to NetGalley and publishers for an ARC for an honest review.
July 12, 2026
I honestly don’t know if it’s just me but I just didn’t get this…
Like they are giving a message here about cults and brainwashing but what were they supposed to be about yknow?
Yeah I just didn’t get this so book ain’t for me chief 🤷🏻♀️
Thanks anyways Netgalley and publisher for allowing me to read it for free!
Like they are giving a message here about cults and brainwashing but what were they supposed to be about yknow?
Yeah I just didn’t get this so book ain’t for me chief 🤷🏻♀️
Thanks anyways Netgalley and publisher for allowing me to read it for free!
September 16, 2026
It's a good thing this takes all of five minutes to read, because it gives you carte blanche to read it all over again to see if you missed something – like its point. I doubt you'll find it a second time round, either, mind. One and a half stars.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews