Disquiet

by Noah Van Sciver

Noah Van Sciver is a keen observer of the human condition, exploring the decisions people make that make, break, and define them. Disquiet showcases the best of his short comics work, including: “The Death Of Elijah Lovejoy,” the story of the midwestern abolitionist in the 1830s;“The Lizard Who Laughed,” a painfully dysfunctional reunion; and “Punks V. Lizards,” an anarchic and darkly comic piece of absurdity that blends Quadrophenia with Jurassic Park.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Short Stories, Fiction, Historical, Fantasy, Horror

128 pages, Hardcover

First published June 5, 2016

About the author

[copied from: http://nvansciver.wordpress.com/about/]

I am THE one and only Noah Van Sciver, cartoonist/comic strip artist and illustrator. I’m best known for my alternative comic book series Blammo and my weekly comic strip 4 Questions which appears every week in the alternative newspaper Westword. My work has appeared in The Best American comics 2011, Mad magazine, Sunstone, The Comics Journal, MOME and numerous comics anthologies. I’m currently hard at work on my first graphic novel The Hypo which will be published by Fantagraphics books upon its completion. I’m a cancer and I hate seafood, and adventure.

Reviews

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disquiet is a pretty decent anthology collection of Noah Van Sciver’s comics, some of which have been published before as single comics. Like The Lizard Laughs, the best story here, about a young man reconnecting with his estranged, deadbeat dad who abandoned his family years ago.

I recently read One Dirty Tree, Noah’s memoir of growing up, and, re-reading Lizard, it’s clear that the deadbeat dad in the story is Noah’s real dad (going by his appearance, personality and the doodle he draws). I doubt the events of the story actually happened but it’s an illuminating insight into Noah’s feelings towards his dad and adds another dimension to an already stellar comic. “Weak men can become fathers, too” - ain’t that the truth.

The Cow’s Head is a weird and interesting fairy tale of a poor girl spending the night in the woods in the company of a disembodied, talking cow’s head! I also love the unsettled, foreboding atmosphere of the untitled story of a 30 year old woman spending Christmas with her family (which previously appeared in Slow Graffiti).

Dress Up is an amusing short about a random old guy who dresses up as Batman and stops a robbery. And I liked elements of Down in a Hole, about a former clown kid’s presenter spelunking, and Night Shift, about a directionless young woman looking for a way out of her current life into a better one.

I still don’t like the outright silliness of Punks v. Lizards, which is about, yup, punks fighting giant lizards because, I guess, Noah finds that hilarious (the story also appeared in his previous collection, Youth Is Wasted). It’s Over is an unimpressive break-up story. By far the least enjoyable story was The Death of Elijah Lovejoy, which is a (rightfully) discarded extra from Noah’s book The Hypo, about an abolitionist printer who gets killed by ignorant thugs.

Like most anthologies, Disquiet is hit and miss but, even if you’ve read some of the stories here before, like me, there’s still enough here that’s worth checking out. And if you’re a Noah Van Sciver fan, re-reading some of the stuff is just as good as reading it the first time around anyway.

[Jan Philipzig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disquiet is a collection of diverse but all-around excellent, unforgettable shorts (plus a few individual illustrations) by independent American cartoonist Noah van Sciver. Let's see, there's family and historical drama, crime, dead-end jobs, poverty, madness, a fairy tale, dystopian sci-fi comedy, giant lizards, autobiography--you name it. And it all works beautifully! The thing is, Noah van Sciver's passionate, unpretentious, unflinching, unpredictable cartooning is kinda irresistible. Powerful stuff!

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

VanSciver has created a pretty impressive early career, with the enlightening Hypo: The Melancholic Young Lincoln, the hilarious Fante Bukowski, and the series of portraits of lost and melancholy losers of Saint Cole and Youth is Wasted. Disquiet is a newly released (fall 2016) collection of stories, not themed in any way, with some one page cartoons and illustrations thrown in to make it look like a scrapbook or artist’s journal, not like that’s a bad thing. You get to see a range of stuff he draws, kind of like outtakes from films.

In this collection we have a foreword by an ex-girlfriend (!). We have a weird father-son story in The Lizard Laughed, which I found touching, sad. A story about abolitionist Elijah Lovejoy. A bizarre story about a cow’s head. An odd sci fi story, “Down in a Hole.” Punks Vs. Lizards? A sweet sad story of a girl working in a bagel place, sleeping in her sister’s walk-in closet. Sweet and sad is what Van Sciver does best. This collection is not his best stuff, but it is still compelling and interesting. I probably should give it three stars because it is pretty uneven, just mainly odd, not as good as the above books, but wth, it’s one of the closest things to Crumb’s comix that I see going and I just like it. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars, so there.

[Hannah Garden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think we can all agree that Noah Van Sciver is extremely good.

Like possibly he is the greatest of our time maybe.

[Drew Canole · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolutely wonderful collection of short stories. They range so drastically in content and even artistic style. The only real main thread is the author himself. These all explore his interests and thoughts. Highly recommended! Noah Van Sciver is one of the truly great comic guys around today!

[Kirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is all over the place, but that’s not a bad thing.

The artwork and writing style weaves the disconnected stories together. We get stories in multiple genres, but always with that Van Sciver delivery. It is delivery that works here.

Some of the stories are more happenings with no clear middle or end. I have really taken to these types of stories during the pandemic though, as it closely emulates casual conversations with real people.

That’s ultimately what the most down-to-earth work is here: the stories of real people.

Actually it is all about real people. Just sometimes those real people are fighting lizards or doing some other crazy shit.

[Matt Graupman · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is not a more versatile voice in comics right now than Noah Van Sciver. Autobio, fiction, historical pieces, funny, sad, violent, tender, personal, and universal; he does it all and he does it all extremely well. The latest book by this prolific talent, "Disquiet," is a collection of his shorter works, some published in the past few years as mini-comics, and a few random illustrations. Not only does the book showcase his chameleon-like ability to tell an engrossing story, but it also demonstrates his ability to draw in a variety of styles - both clean and sketchy - that perfectly suit the comic's tone. With "Disquiet" it's clear that Noah is never satisfied with his work and I'm excited to see where his relentless pursuit of perfection takes him next.

FAVORITES:
"The Lizard Laughed" - An absentee father is reunited with his adult son and they go on an awkward hike together.
"Dress Up" - A small town reporter interviews a Good Samaritan who foiled a robbery in a very unusual way.
"Punks V. Lizards: Stand-Off!" - A poignant chapter from Van Sciver's on-going saga about the post-apocalyptic battle between a gang of punks and monstrous lizards.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent, varied collection of short comic stories & drawings by Noah Van Sciver, culled from various zines and other publications (why is none of this publication information provided? I confess I'm a nerd/closet librarian, and care about these things). Among the highlights are the bitter historical account of "The Death of Elijah Lovejoy"; an acutely perceptive tale of an uncomfortable father-son reunion called "The Lizard Laughed"; another chapter of "Punks Vs. Lizards," which is a funny ongoing tale of a dystopian future overrun by—you guessed it—giant lizards; and "Night Shift," a pitch-perfect example of Van Sciver's twenty-something character studies, delineated with empathy and insight. Noah is a very fine cartoonist who appears at ease in any number of story genres and tones. I admire his talent and work ethic a lot and I think he's on his way to being one of the greats.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Noah Van Sciver and i seem to have drastically different ways of seeing the world and/or expressing what we see in the world because i honestly just don't get him. Oh well. It might be as simple a "disconnect" as i privilege "polished" and he privileges "unrefined." But really, i can't identify what the boundary between his words+pictures and my enjoyment+understanding is made of, so i'm going to guess it's an as-yet unidentified personal prejudice.

[Derek Royal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of previously published shorter works and art from Van Sciver. Solid writing, as we usually get from the creator, but I wish this collection had indicated where these pieces had originally appeared. But that's more of an editorial issue than an artistic one.

[Jesús · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few of the short comics collected in Noah Van Sciver’s Disquiet are impressive, but most are narratively incomplete and unsatisfying. I prefer Van Sciver’s work when he’s more direct and honest. But if nothing else, this collection shows that even the most talented creators produce tons of rough experiments and sketches in order to create just one, small, brilliant idea.

I suppose if you’ve read most of Van Sciver’s other published work and you’re really jonesing for more, then this might scratch that itch. But everyone else would probably be better off waiting for something new.

[Redwan Orittro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird collection of short stories that just starts from nowhere and ends nowhere.

[Ian Carpenter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great collection of shorts. Some with the first colour I've seen in Van Sciver's work. And, there were some female protagonists which were a welcome shift from his traditional male sad-sacks. I remain enamored with nearly everything he's doing.

[Al Capwned · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short stories by Noah Van Sciver. There are some fillers, sure, but most of the stories (especially the longer ones) are pretty good.

[Rick Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disquiet is a series of short comics by Noah Van Sciver, pulled from his contributions to various anthologies and from his own Blammo! series. Van Sciver has largely made his imprint on the medium via his own loosely autobiographical comics, with the less true stories still borrowing facets of experiences he had in his youth. The opening and longest story in this collection is "The Lizard Laughed" which details a young man's reunion with his father and the many questions he has for why his father left. It's the strongest of the bunch as it mixes in Van Sciver's deft use of wry humor mixed with earnestness and charm.

Other decent stories in here include "The Cow's Head", a weird little folktale-styled story about a young girl conversing with a decapitated talking cow head, "Dress Up" which features an out of shape older gentleman taking on a Batman persona and trying to stop a crime, and "Night Shift" which features a disillusioned woman seeking purpose in life.

The rest is a bit forgettable unfortunately, with inclusion of "The Death of Elijah Lovejoy" being a particularly out of place entry. It's effectively a 'deleted scene' from The Hypo but despite serving as a climactic finale, feels disjointed without having the rest of the story here for more context.

Despite the ups and downs that an anthology provides, this does serve as a strong sampling of Van Sciver's talents as a cartoonist. Uninterested in typical genre fiction, Van Sciver capably delivers stories with a naturalistic sensibility that are rooted in everyday circumstances and observations. It's tough to pull off this kind of low-key narration, but Van Sciver has it down to a science. It also helps that his cartooning is fluid and captivating, highly expressive but also slight enough to never overwhelm the reader. It's a subtle skill he possesses, but it's easily recognized when read in a collection like this.

[Radwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read from noah van sciver before, and I liked some of his tories in NOW anthology, but this collection had some hits and some misses. he uses personal experience in relating personal and realistic stories even when they include some giant lizards.

[J.T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories (and illustrations) from various minis and anthologies. It's typical Noah Van Sciver, which is to say disturbingly wonderful. He experiments with various combinations of media with different stories, but each one is easily identifiable as his own.

The common thread through most of the stories is some iteration of a sad-sack downtrodden misanthropic protagonist, which is a common theme in NVS tales. There's too much humanity in them to make them anti-heroes, though. It's too easy to identify with them (at least for me!). The glaring exception is the Elijah Lovejoy story in which Lovejoy is a hero in a VERY unfortunate situation.

You can practically feel NVS's compulsion to draw oozing from every page. Most are densely packed with detail and feeling. I can't say for certain, but the author is probably at his happiest (or least neurotic?) while drawing, and we are all the more lucky for it.

[Leabhair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Van Sciver has abundantly demonstrated his range in this collection, both in terms of visual style and also thematic scope, tone and subject matter. The stories in this collection range from intimate family and relationship portraits reminiscent of Adrian Tomine, historical Western fiction, to surreal flights of fantasy. The artwork is a little rough but definitely has its own identity; the turns of phrase occasionally seem a little pat and borrowed. Probably my favourite story in the collection is "Punks versus Lizards": it operates entirely on its own bizarre internal logic and commits so totally to its absurd premise that you can't help but laugh in admiration. Excited to read more of his work.

[Ian Hrabe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Van Sciver is an excellent artist and his greatest gift is his unwillingness to adhere to a set style. The art varies in all of these comics and it's one of the things that makes this such a good read. His storytelling, on the other hand, never quite clicks. The stories feel like they are trying too hard to move you in a quiet way. That's not to say that he doesn't succeed with a few of them. "The Death of Elijah Lovejoy" belongs in Best American Comics and is the runaway standout here. The subject matter is as varied as the art styles so it's definitely not a boring read, I just wish these stories connected the dots a little better.

[Chelsea Martinez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a mix of historical retellings and everyday life in Denver; the latter were my favorite. I liked the female-narrated stories about a Christmas Day trip home and working the night shift at a bagel shop especially.
"Can I get a large light roast coffee?" "Holy shit that's the first time I've spoken out loud in two days!"

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Noah Van Sciver is brilliant. Solid storytelling + unrefined artwork = a good dose of laugh-out-loud hijinks and even some thought-provoking tales. Not sure if he still works at Westword, but the thought of him being local makes me smile.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vignettes and short comics, some better than others. I was pleased to see a drawing of Fante Bukowski pop up.

[Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over the past few months, I’ve kind of been on a bit of a Noah Van Sciver kick. After coming across his work for the first time in an issue of the Now Comics anthology, I was so impressed I quickly put in a request in for pretty much his entire opus for the local library system. It has been interesting seeing how Van Sciver’s work has evolved over the years, as well as his range, tackling humor, absurdism, realism, despair, from touching memoir to well researched historical pieces to punks versus lizards. This is especially the case with his collected short stories in Youth is Wasted and Disquiet.

Both of these works consist of various short comic vignettes and artwork featuring some of Van Sciver’s major themes. His scratchy but detailed artwork suits the often gritty subject matter he works with, in particular, slice of life tales of aimless, impoverished young men working dead end jobs with little going for them, straddling the precarious line between sympathetic and repugnant. Youth is Wasted especially focuses on these hard luck stories with Abby’s Road, Because I Have To, Expectations, and 1999. While compelling in their depictions of these “losers,” capturing so well their attitudes and styles, they occasionally feel a bit aimless, anticlimactic. Still, the hints of the weird and surreal these stories occasionally have appeal to me as well.

In Disquiet, I felt he continued these same themes, but the stories felt slightly tighter, more satisfying, as in The Lizard Laughed. His eerie fairy tale work The Cows Head also really enchanted me, hearkening so well to the old, dark weirdness of folklore. I also really appreciate the growing use of color in his work here. In any case, in both works I’m really impressed by the breadth of the ideas he takes on, his sense of humor, and eye for how people interact.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

DISQUIET by Noah Van Sciver - a collection of short story comics from Van Sciver, whose FANTE BUKOWSKI is one of my favorite comics of the last 10 years. These are, I think, pretty good, and like FANTE, seem to me to continue in the tradition of WEIRDO-style alt-comix, by which I mean (speaking generally, broadly, and relatively), place more emphasis on getting across a particular tone and worldview than on formal inventiveness. I think this works better as a companion piece to FANTE rather than a stand alone work, in that the collection doesn’t really cohere and is merely the sum of its parts.

[Luis Diaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by the diverse voices in this anthology. I normally dislike anthologies, but it is always better with the same author and in this case the stories were all very compelling. I was very impressed especially with "The Death of Elijah Lovejoy." Wow! This is my first voyage into the world of Noah Van Sciver and I will look high and low for more of his stories.

[Josephus FromPlacitas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really great, diverse set of stories. I'm naturally biased in favor of a story about loses in the high mountains of New Mexico, like the first story, but there was a really great collection of other tales as well: historical, relationship, punk sci-fi humor fantasy. Van Sciver has a great line and figure, sort of Gary Dumm-ish, that is pleasurable to look at.

[Vittorio Rainone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Non mi ha entusiasmato. Qualche sprazzo carino, racconti abbastanza piacevoli, ma innocui, che mi hanno detto poco. Sarà che, al di là del maestro Tomine, mi sembra veramente difficile trovare lavori convincenti sulla breve e media distanza in ambito fumetto.
L’impostazione grafica non si discosta da altri lavori du Sciver, con un’approccio che ricorda il nostro Tota.

[Tom Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of these comics are just plain weird ("Cow's Head" or "Punks v. Lizards"). Others are better characterized as slices of life, and those were the ones I liked best. One of the shortest and best is called "It's Over." Another is untitled and is about being aimless at age thirty. Simple but stirring stories, and a great introduction to Noah Van Sciver.

[Nate]

A bunch of short stories by Van Sciver. A few are okay (The Laughing Lizard, The Death of Elijah Lovejoy), but most are instantly forgettable. Stories this short rarely leave any impression. A lot of them feel like literal sketches.

This marks the third Noah Van Sciver book I've read. I liked one and pretty much hated the other two. Not a great track record.

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first ever comic book and I am definitely not stopping here. Van Sciver's short stories have a Carver/Salinger-esque touch to them, possibly a shade darker. It's a fantastic read if you love good writing.