Smoke

by Gregory Benton (Illustrator)

After an accident on an industrial farm unhinges two young brothers from reality, they are guided through a weird and wonderful journey by Xolo, the Aztec's mythological protector of souls. Follow the brothers through a typical day, from their arrival at an industrial tobacco farm bussed in with others early in the morning, throughout their grueling chores and ultimately to the event that drops them into the realm of the Xolo.

The book is wordless, employing vibrant full-color art and bold compositions to convey a realistically unreal world, which has become a hallmark of Benton's work.

Gregory Benton received the Society of Illustrators inaugural MoCCA Award of Excellence for his critically acclaimed wordless book B+F . Smoke is another column in the lore of that universe.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics, Comics

80 pages, Hardcover

First published September 8, 2015

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a little bit to figure out what was going on in this wordless picture book, which is maybe in part directed toward youth, but is maybe complex enough for interest for all ages. It has political dimensions, too, as it focuses on underaged workers in the tobacco industry. An accident happens, and then things get a bit weird as Xolo, an Aztec spirit, comes into the story, some kind of protector.

We see the hazards of the work for especially unprotected kids, including too much exposure to nicotine, safety issues.

The art is interesting, moving from realistic to fantastical. I'd say it was good in general, but I give it a star for being one of those rare books that has social justice intentions.

[StrictlySequential · Rating 4 out of 5]

Other than being haphazardly structured -bouncing back and forth within the same time frame- I really enjoyed the art and story.

[Derek Royal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is reminiscent of last year's B+F, especially in its style and wordless delivery. And this one is psychological in its content, not as surreal, given its links to more "realistic" surface representations. Also, it has more of a targeted message and, you could argue, social awareness. We look at this title as part of our publisher spotlight episode of The Comics Alternative devoted to new Hang Dai Edition books: http://comicsalternative.com/episode-....

[Tonya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad, beautiful, thought-envoking.

[Stephanie Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations are gorgeous but I had to “read” it twice to fully understand what the story was that this wordless graphic novel was telling me. I really love this book!

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Alida McDermott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great message

[Hollowspine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very sad, but beautiful graphic novel about two brothers who work on an tobacco farm, riding around in the back of pick-ups, spending their days bent over fields or hanging up the tobacco leaves in drying houses and their nights in feverish dreams about their little sister, whose memorial they pass each day on their way to work.

The book has no words, but conveys the brothers pain and the trauma of working on the tobacco fields, through vibrant colors and harrowing dream sequences where the boys fight off fire creatures who breath smoke into their lungs until they are rescued by a bone dog (Xolo) who guides the boys to ...safety?

The story is melancholy and the ending quite sad, but through the boys interactions with Xolo there is some beauty in it as well.

[J.T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous in every way. This is a very active and wordless comic in which reality and surreal dream-like sequences intertwine.

I hadn't read the synopsis above before reading this book, but after reading it through twice, I was able to suss out the key elements. I'd guessed that the migrant workers were harvesting tobacco, but I didn't make the connection between the surreal passages and the effects of daily tobacco exposure (makes sense now!). The heightened emotional state the two boys are in after losing their sister (and repeating the trauma as they pass her memorial daily) probably heightens their hallucinatory experiences.

Although there are parallels to Benton's previous book, B+F, and even a recurring character (Xolo the dog), this story is more rooted in reality.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gregory Benton's "Smoke" is my first experience with a wordless comic book. As a writer and a musician I often rely on my words to convey my meaning. Gleaning information from image alone is not something I'm used to. I found this experience enthralling.
Benton's images are beautiful and tell a story so engaging and saddening. I would definitely recommend this book. This book proves the adage "a picture's worth a thousand words" for this story holds more power than some 200 page nonfiction books I've read.

[Eli Poteet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always appreciate a wordless comic because I feel as though the drawings are capable of expressing and communicating ideas without certain need of verbs and nouns. this short book focuses on farm workers plights. although I approve of this work I was a bit lost midbook concerning the giant bone dog and what it symbolized.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A remarkable deeply disturbing graphic novel told with love and mythical awareness. Well worth the time reading. I will have to revisit it from time to time to get a deeper feeling and understanding of the story the images tell.

[Brad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wordless storytelling is an incredible skill, and this gorgeous little story is an adventure as much as it is a social commentary. I won't give anything away...just soak in the visuals and more importantly, the story.

[Vi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kids on a nopal farm, hanging out with Xolo. Nice.

[Miss Ryoko · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a wordless graphic novel, and there were a few times I had to go back and review pages because I wasn't entirely sure what was happening. By the end I got it all. A very interesting way to tell a rather sad story... yet somehow it didn't feel sad, it felt happy. I really like the idea of wordless graphic novels, and I feel like this one was executed very well. If the cover doesn't grab your attention, then don't bother :-p