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Crawl Space

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Daisy ha appena traslocato quando scopre un intero universo parallelo fatto di forme di vita insolite, sensazioni e colori accecanti all’interno della lavatrice della sua nuova casa. Quali conseguenze avrà la scelta di raccontare l’esistenza di questo mondo psichedelico alle compagne di scuola appena conosciute?

104 pages, Hardcover

First published May 16, 2017

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1556 people want to read

About the author

Jesse Jacobs

23 books136 followers
Jesse Jacobs is a Canadian cartoonist and illustrator based in London, Ontario.
Jacobs was born in Moncton, New Brunswick. Early in his career, he worked in animation, notably on the Cartoon Network show Adventure Time. He has also experience as a game developer, although his main arena remains comics.
Jacobs is known for his psychedelic and geometrical style of cartooning. A number of his short comics have been featured in various editions of Fantagraphics annual anthology Best American Comics from 2012 to 2018. Most of his longer books have been published by the Canadian small press publisher Koyama Press, such as By This Shall You Know Him (2012), Safari Honeymoon (2014) and the Eisner nominee (for best new album) Crawl Space (2017).

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5 stars
572 (39%)
4 stars
565 (38%)
3 stars
259 (17%)
2 stars
39 (2%)
1 star
17 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 228 reviews
Profile Image for Dave Schaafsma.
Author 6 books32.1k followers
February 5, 2018
Some actual pages thanks to Koyama Press:

http://koyamapress.com/projects/crawl...

I have loved everything I have read by the obsessively meticulous Jacobs (By This You Shall Know Him, Safari Honeymoon), books dealing with forces--natural, spiritual--that are larger than us, but this might be the most fun: Bland suburbia transformed into psychedelic-colored phantasmagoria when two girls enter another physical/spiritual dimension. The portal to this dimension is in the basement. . . . okay, no surprise there, it would be either in 1) the bedroom; 2) basement or 3) attic. . . but here's the funny surprise: The actual portal is the washer and dryer; this is the pathway to the space where reality gets seriously reconstituted. This might be seen as something like Jim Woodring's wordless Frank books: A weird art book, a strange world, a world of unreason, but in Jacobs it is unbelievably detailed patterns that accompany bizarre life forms, and Jacobs here cares more about narrative continuity than does Woodring He doesn't just describe the "crawl space" but tells a story based on it.

What happens when the girls invite other kids from school into their experience, and some kids bring beer (as in: just to party, a kegger), with less "pure" purposes to what we understand from some abstract panels of philosophy/theology here is a kind of spiritual process? Trouble in paradise? This book would seem to be a commentary/allegory about the imagination and spiritual experiences. I was even reminded of Philip Pullman's exploration of (physics-based) multiple worlds as I read. And the spiritual work of Ron Rege, too (The Cartoon Utopia!!)! And of course Aldous Huxley's The Doors of Perception and the Harvard acid experiments, and so on. And the weird characters of Michael DeForge. . . so fun. Awesome alternative or art comics.
Profile Image for Nate D.
1,653 reviews1,252 followers
November 20, 2019
This is just wonderful. Teens, psychedelics, higher realities, and those shitty careless friends who you know you probably shouldn't confide in but do anyway because who else do you really have? Probably even better than Jacobs' previous delirium of dissolving identity, Safari Honeymoon.
Profile Image for Serena.
27 reviews4 followers
May 21, 2017
Is it possible to give this a 10/5?
Profile Image for Lee Klein .
911 reviews1,055 followers
December 30, 2019
Writing this after blazing through in maybe a half an hour at most -- a first of many reads most likely. Psychedelicized high-school experience, complete with the rager that wrecks it all, but abstracted to a realm of pure shapes and colors (the ideal essence of visual art). As much "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" as that Peter Fonda movie "The Trip." Squirmy, brilliant in the bright and British "smart" sense, sort of like the textual equivalent of a Starburst, with a spiritual side. Loved it -- and will now acquire something else by this author.
Profile Image for Sraah.
410 reviews43 followers
July 11, 2018
fk u jeanne-claude
worst friend e v e r
u were a horrible fake friend lil binch to daisy the entire time

i loved this
this made me think and feel the same way i already think and feel but when i read someone else talking about it i’m like “he’ll yea brother” and transcend a physical form
Profile Image for Mirco con la C.
45 reviews11 followers
March 11, 2018
Non sono un grande consumatore ed esperto di fumetti (lo ero da ragazzino e forse è per nostalgia che mi ostino a chiamarli fumetti e mi rifiuto di pronunciare le parole “graphic novel”), però mi sono sempre piaciute le serie psichedeliche e visionarie, tipo Shade, Lone Sloane, gli underground comix degli anni ’60, e con questo Crawl Space mi son sentito subito a casa mia. Daisy è una ragazzina che è appena andata ad abitare in un’altra città e nella lavatrice della nuova casa trova la porta di accesso ad un’altra dimensione. Si tratta di un universo parallelo fatto di colori (tantissimi colori) sgargianti e forme caleidoscopiche cangianti; dal punto di vista visivo le uniche cose convenzionali del fumetto sono la forma e l’ordine delle vignette, che permettono almeno di non perdere il filo e di godersi le bellissime sequenze lisergiche disegnate da Jacobs, che regalano brividi di puro piacere estetico. Le visite in questo bizzarro mondo si rivelano un esperienza mistica e spirituale, in cui Daisy esplora le proprie sensazioni e gli stati d’animo, che si riflettono nel modo in cui vive questa esperienza metafisica ed in cui interagisce con le astruse creature che incontra. La ragazzina si trova a tentare di raccontare e condividere questi strani viaggi coi suoi compagni di scuola…
Leggerò sicuramente altro di Jacobs. A questo link potete ammirare alcune delle pagine di questo meraviglioso (nel vero senso della parola, suscita meraviglia…) Crawl Space: http://www.fumettologica.it/2018/02/c...
Sono sempre stato anch’io convinto che il cestello della lavatrice sia una porta d’accesso ad altre dimensioni (ne ho trovato conferma anche nel film “Dio esiste e vive a Bruxelles”), forse è per quello che da bambino, quando alla domenica mattina mia madre faceva il bucato, il rumore e le vibrazioni della centrifuga mi mandavano quasi in uno stato di trance. Probabilmente la centrifuga funziona come acceleratore di particelle ed apre dei varchi, questo spiegherebbe anche la scomparsa dei calzini…
Profile Image for Kamakana.
Author 2 books415 followers
November 14, 2021
if you like this review, i now have website: www.michaelkamakana.com

050119: this, as my illustrator friend might say, is art. that is, weird shit. of course i love it, it is supremely visual, tells something like story in images, could not be offered in any other medium, shows much drafting skill. psychedelic trippy heavy wow as if beatle’s yellow submarine in graphic (much better than actual version...), vibrant, fantastic, powerful visualization in simple transitions from black/white to neon bright against black. story is simple. intense. spiritual. easy to look at and look at again. this is great art...
Profile Image for Francesca.
33 reviews1 follower
March 21, 2018
Easily one of the most visually beautiful graphic novels I've read.
Profile Image for Anna.
690 reviews87 followers
June 28, 2019
did i like this? did i hate this? does it even have the ability to elicit an opinion? who knows
Profile Image for Titus.
427 reviews57 followers
December 30, 2020
In relation to many of the arts, not least comics, words like "trippy" and "psychedelic" get thrown around a lot – including by me. They're generally used to indicate surrealism, abstraction or just plain strangeness, or as a shorthand for a particular kind of aesthetic. As such, if I say that Crawl Space is psychedelic, anyone who's seen its front cover, or seen any of Jacobs's other work, is likely to be unsurprised, or even think I'm stating the obvious. As it happens, this is a bit of a boy-who-cried-wolf scenario, because Crawl Space is truly psychedelic, in the sense that it actually recreates the sensation of being under the influence of psychedelic drugs. It does this not just through its use of shifting multicoloured geometric shapes – which are enough to trigger an acid flashback all by themselves – but also in a very active, direct way through the narrative. The comic's central premise is a secret portal to another plane of existence, and the depictions of these interdimensional journeys – and particularly the transitions between planes – are the best artistic representations of psychedelic experiences that I've ever come across, capturing the internal aspects usually neglected by Hollywood in favour of flashy visuals.

I would probably have loved Crawl Space even if it were just a directionless exploration of this higher plane, but Jacobs ties the psychedelic components to a surprisingly down-to-earth plot, which gently examines adolescent friendships and life in North American suburbia. To my mind, this elevates Crawl Space from just being a successful experiment in psychedelia, making it a satisfying, fully realized work of narrative fiction. In this way, it feels more substantial and well rounded than Safari Honeymoon, which shares the same wonderful sense of raw imagination, but is lighter on plot and human interest. Visually speaking, Crawl Space is an absolute delight, most notably due to the intricately drawn, vibrantly coloured, kaleidoscopic geometry of the higher plane, but also due to the bold, straight-line-dominated style of the black-and-white “real world”, and the contrast between the two.

This comic isn’t long – less than 100 pages – but it’s made a powerful impression on me, and I don’t have a single criticism of it. Its brevity and slight plot may prevent it from being considered an all-time great, but it’s pretty much a guaranteed good trip.
Profile Image for Cheyenne.
100 reviews17 followers
August 20, 2024
format: paperback
rating: 5 stars

my favourite from jesse jacobs so far. as usual it's abstract, trippy, a little bit scary (due to the concept) and the panels are super interesting to look at if you like this artstyle with all the geometrical shapes

p.s.: the friend character in this one is simultaneously the best and the worst friend you could wish for xD
Profile Image for Nazım.
168 reviews15 followers
March 1, 2024
Hikaye benim gibi Gaspar Noe'yi emmisi bellemiş bünyeler için bile fazla saykodelik.

İki ergen, kafasını çamaşır makinesine sokarak farklı bir aleme geçiş yapıyorlar. Daha sonra bu farklı alemi diğer ergen arkadaşları ile de paylaşıp mevzunun bokunu çıkarıyorlar.
Konuyu ve verdiği mesajı gerçekten tam olarak anlayamadım. Normalde saykodelik işlere "ooo abi asit tribi yeaa" yorumu yapmayı sevmem ama bu kitap oraya çok yakın. Şayet mesaj "kafanızı çamaşır makinesine sokmayın, sokarsanız da kimseye söylemeyin." değilse varoluş ve o varoluşu fazla tüketmeme ile ilgili. Ama emin değilim. Komple uydurmuş da olabilirim.

Şayet spiritüel alanlara meyliniz varsa içerisinde ortamlarda satılabilecek bolca cümle bulabilirsiniz.


Tüm bu şahsi olumsuzlukların yanında mükemmel bir grafik dili var kitabın. Hayranlıkla izledim çizimleri. Geçişler, renkler, kompozisyon o kadar güzel ki "ya siktiret hikayeyi çok mu lazım sanki" derkrn buldum kendimi.

Bu kadar grafik tarza biraz daha kaliteli bir baskı tercih edilebilirmiş tabi. Nada çok taze bir yayınevi ve kendi yerini oluşturacak ilginç şeyler yapıyorlar. Bu kadar kusur kadı kızında da olur.
Profile Image for SuperLuminal.
67 reviews
July 25, 2017
Short, sweet, and soothing like an adult coloring book - but with free added bonus of not actually having to color anything.
It's definitely worth it
Profile Image for MariNaomi.
Author 35 books439 followers
July 18, 2018
Gorgeous and creepy. If Yayoi Kusama were to make comics, she'd strive for something like this.
Profile Image for Billie Tyrell.
157 reviews38 followers
May 1, 2021
Reminds me of when I was young and I used to like pressing my eyes down with my fingers to make funny patterns. I'd recommend this book but wouldn't recommend pressing your eyes in... unless you think that glasses are cool (they are).
Profile Image for Vanni Santoni.
Author 41 books628 followers
March 17, 2018
una delle più acute e delicate riflessioni sull'esperienza psichedelica mai viste su carta. Molto, molto superiore al suo libro precedente.
Profile Image for John Blacksad.
532 reviews55 followers
January 31, 2024
Acayip bir şey. Hepsinden önce, basmasalardı muhtemelen denk düşmeyeceğim için @nada.kitap a teşekkür ederim.

Teknik olarak çok başarılı. Renk, şekil kullanımı hem görsel olarak kendine has ve güzel hem de anlatmaya çalıştığı öyküye çok uyumlu. Teknikten bahsettiğimiz için, sadece bazı sayfalarda (bir Türk çizgi roman basımı laneti olarak), netliği bozuk sayfaların varlığı tadımı kaçırdı. Bu farklı kitabın çöpsüz üzüm olmasını isterdim.

Hikaye de enteresan. Arka planına göre her okuyan/düşünen kendine göre bir şeyler yakalayacaktır. Düşünme bize, insana has. Bu sebeple (akıma çoğunlukla kapılıp gitsek, kafanın düğmesini kapatsak da) hepimiz varlığı ve ötesini düşünmüşüzdür. Bireysel olarak olmasa bile “insanlık” doğudan batıya kafa yormuş, yoruyor, yormakta.

Bu renkli kitabın yolu da buralardan geçiyor. Uyarıcı bir madde, bir psilosibin deneyiminden, dinlerin tariflediği spiritüel hallere, İslam ve tasavvufa, tefekküre ve rabıtaya, tayy-i mekan ve tayy-i zaman kavramlarına kadar okuyucuyu götürebilir. Bunu icra ediş şekli de oldukça fiyakalı. Öneriyorum.

Görsel sanatlara ilgisi olan herkesin kitaplığında olmalı. Sayfaları ara ara çevirmek isteyebilirsiniz.

Not: Yukarıda tariflediğim spiritüel arayış bana çok severek okuduğum Kış Hasadı kitabını hatırlattı, meraklısı göz atabilir. (Shems Friedlander, Sufi Kitap)
Profile Image for Sandra Miksa.
Author 1 book93 followers
March 6, 2019
"Teenagers being teenagers" and "humans being humans" if there's one thing I've retained from this psychedelic-like graphic novel is that we are doomed to make bad choices and disrupt new environments. It's hard enough to grasp our own world, having to decipher another realm of sensations and to free our minds is a whole other task for us. I think I'd have to read through it another few times before really grasping the message because it seems too "plainly there" to believe what I believe after first reading. The rainbow-like art intertwined with the washed out black and white really had a greater effect on me - one that I can't seem to pinpoint?
Profile Image for Peacegal.
11.7k reviews102 followers
June 22, 2022
This is one of the most unique and creative graphic novels I've encountered. With a surreal art style that will draw fans of Michael DeForge, Jim Woodring, etc., this is the story of a girl who discovers a portal into another dimension through her home's washing machine, and what happens when her classmates catch on to her bizarre secret.
Profile Image for Ji Le.
135 reviews13 followers
February 17, 2019
Un auteur à l'univers très particulier qui brise les codes à l'instar de Michael deForge nous livre un travail très original, où les deux adolescentes banlieusardes nord américaines rentrent dans une dimension parallèle en rentrant dans leur machine à laver. Tout va bien jusqu'au jour où ils invitent leurs copains, moins conscients ou "purs" à faire de même/
Jesse Jacobs pousse son travail graphique un niveau plus loin que les précédents, et c'est assez impressionnant. Le scénario pêche en revanche par une vision peut-être réelle, mais somme toute assez simpliste de ce passage délicat de l'adolescence et d'une trame narrative fine.
Profile Image for Momotte.
127 reviews20 followers
July 17, 2024
Wtf did I juste read ?
Je suis pas sûre d'avoir tout compris mais c'était stylé. Au niveau graphique, j'aime beaucoup ce genre d'ovni qui joue avec les formes et les couleurs. Au niveau du scénario, je ne sais toujours pas exactement de quoi ça parle, mais je trouve intéressant qu'on puisse justement chacun l'interpréter à notre manière.
Profile Image for Sarah.
10 reviews
September 18, 2018
I loved this graphic novel! The art was so beautiful and surreal in the best way. I enjoyed the story too - the classic new kid trying to fit in while also not losing individuality. But this took it to a totally different place with the alternate dimensions and literally losing yourself/your existence because of them. The concept was great, and I thought it was all really well done. So cool!
Profile Image for Przemysław Skoczyński.
1,412 reviews48 followers
March 11, 2022
Ten album podoba mi się bardziej niż kapitalny "Miesiąc miodowy na safari". Dwójka dzieciaków odkrywa inny świat, do którego droga prowadzi przez... pralkę w piwnicy. Od tego momentu rozpoczyna się ich flirt z barwami i materią, które zaczynają absorbować jedną z bohaterek aż za bardzo. Świat wykreowany przez autora jest geometryczny, intensywnie kolorowy, absurdalny i psychodeliczny. Ten komiks to dekonstrukcja i tworzenie rzeczywistości na nowo. Rzeczywistości, która w pewnym momencie zaczęła przejmować kontrolę nie tylko nad świadomością bohaterów, ale również nad pracą rysownika. Kapitalny eksperyment, w którym czuć duchową więź z Miachaelem DeForge
Profile Image for Vince.
357 reviews4 followers
June 11, 2018
I have no idea how to review this, I don't know what to say. I really enjoyed it, a very weird and mesmerizing story of another world, a higher plane of existence. I really enjoyed this, the tidbits on accessing a higher plane added some interesting moments to the story and the artwork is so captivating and colorful.
22 reviews1 follower
Read
January 16, 2020
This book follows two newly found friends who discover an inter-dimensional space that they can travel to through a washing machine. This would fit into the genre is of scifi/fantasy. The art style was really cool. when they were in the other dimension everything was crazy rainbows and weird creatures that in some cases looked like Asian art. When the people are in their normal dimension, everything is in black and white. The lines are very thick and bold and the people are very unproportional. I would not consider this to be literature. Its a very unique topic, but its not timeless and universal. Its also doesn't really bend any boundaries. I would absolutely recommend this to everyone. It was ridiculously entertaining and made me think a lot.
393 reviews
July 14, 2017
Wow. So not sure what this was. Drug trip? Amazing imagination? A trip down a very different rabbit hole? Visually stunning.
Profile Image for Gabriel Infierno.
294 reviews8 followers
November 3, 2017
My favorite of Jacobs's works, it's a very relatable history and the drawing, like always, are amazing<3
Displaying 1 - 30 of 228 reviews

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