Everywhere Disappeared

by Patrick Kyle

Collecting a cornucopia of short comics by one of the medium's most inventive artists.

A keen observer of the absurd Patrick Kyle's stories defamiliarize the machinations of life, work and art with droll dialogue and his angular, humanely geometric drawing and sci-fi settings that recall set design more than satellite images. Kyle's figures may be foreign, his settings strange, but his stories resonate deeply.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics

208 pages, Paperback

First published September 12, 2017

About the author

Patrick Kyle is a multidisciplinary artist from Toronto, Canada.

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like I turned a corner on Patrick Kyle with this phenomenal collection of short pieces. His graphic novel Distance Mover left me cold, but now I'm eager to revisit it. Kyle's strange and confident work weaves together so many of the threads I value most in contemporary comics: the freedom-through-play of Ben Jones, the urbanity of Jonny Negron, the giddy futurism of Mickey Zachilli, the melancholy insouciance of Michael DeForge. In the span of a few pages he'll invoke CF and Caravaggio, Goya and Eric Andre. I'm looking forward to delving deeper into his body of work this year.

[Mike Kleine · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a lot of schlock out there right now. These days, anyone can make anything and anyone can fool you into thinking you should take the time to read their stuff. But time is a luxury (Kyle addresses this in a comic here) and it's rare I read something I can label as pure "mind expansion stuff." (For me, this happened first with Don't Come in Here and then also with Distance Mover). It's strange because I generally do not enjoy collections (as this is a collection of his comics) but I think it's because there is a unifying theme to all of his work, that's why I am able to connect with it, even tho it is a collection (this speaks to Kyle and Koyoma's curating prowess). I'll even go as far as to say: Kyle's work is inherently philosophical. And when it comes to philosophy stuff, I am more of an admirer than a connoisseur. The works I label as five stars are usually works that make me want to work/create. I don't want to say all of the comics here moved me, necessarily, but the ones that did, really moved me. It's almost as if Kyle is a writer's comic artist. This isn't simply, read-this-b4-u-go-2-bed stuff either. No, this will make you think (or not, if you really don't want to). It's just that I have a hard time finding truly original comics that I enjoy and 3 times out of 3, Kyle has kept me entertained and thinking and amazed. As long as I am notified (somehow), I will keep supporting any of Kyle's new work. This is how much I believe in all of this.

This is abstract art x philosophy x something that could have only been created/produced in 200x x genuinely important art x something different x important work.

I 100% support Kyle's oeuvre. This is a fact. Ask me about the comic if there's something you'd like to know (that I haven't covered). And yes, I will take the time to respond (because I feel it is important).

[Mateen Mahboubi · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Patrick Kyle, this volume of collected works was all sorts of fun. Lots of funny and weird comics to enjoy and nothing that feels contrived or weak. I look forward to exploring more of Kyle's work.

[LayDownYourSoul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some very cool comics, loved the art style and the storytelling through text/images.

Mixed bag though. Some of the cynicism was off-putting, especially when it seemed to be commenting on some niche thing that I don't know or care about.

On the other hand, a lot of the comics were great, some of the panels are very quote or meme-worthy, very effective. Particularly enjoyed the first three comics which were very very good.

[André Habet · Rating 4 out of 5]

some of these short comics were a bit too nonsensical for even my taste, but there's plenty here that left me shook. Kyle distills conversations on capitalism, modern relationships, self-representation, and home into fun, brutally honest absurdist narratives. Gonna check out more from them.

[Betzim Gdolot · Rating 2 out of 5]

A mixed bag of short stories. Some are ok, some good and some are just meh. The author admits in the first story that this is quite an obnoxious way of communication and this is a good summary of this book.

Good for fans of Patrick Kyle, but pretty bland for casual readers.

[Gabriel Infierno · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is a must have.