A single mother becomes involved with a mysterious man who literally consumes past moments of her life, changing her history and forcing her to decide what should—or shouldn't—be undone.
When Chloe begins a passionate relationship with a traveling businessman, her life suddenly changes for the better, and not just because she's getting laid. Lost friends return, and new opportunities suddenly appear. Soon, though, she begins experiencing horrific encounters with ghostly beings, eventually revealed to be the echoes of moments she has now no longer lived. Her new lover, Heath, stands revealed as a chronophage, a terrifying alien being who subsists on days literally stolen from Chloe's personal history. Can Chloe recapture her lost moments, or is the life she once knew—including the daughter she had at sixteen years old—gone forever?
Tim Seeley is a comic book artist and writer known for his work on books such as G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, The Dark Elf Trilogy, Batman Eternal and Grayson. He is also the co-creator of the Image Comics titles Hack/Slash[1] and Revival, as well as the Dark Horse titles, ExSanguine and Sundowners. He lives in Chicago.
The story of a struggling single mother who meets a man who ignites a passion within her. But then strange things start happening to her. She starts missing time. She begins to see ghosts. But what exactly is going on? It's an interesting premise. Some of the art doesn't work for me. The cartoonish look doesn't work the best for some of the more esoteric stuff. Still, it was worth a read.
Super creepy, both in art and story. You feel like you're falling into madness along with Chloe. The entire third act is absolutely nuts and keeps you uncomfortably turning every page.
Stories like this make reading worthwhile. A mind boggling trip down the rabbit hole in chase of a white rabbit. Certainly not for those who like their reading material to be straightforward. It's a great combination of Dylan Dog, H.P. Lovecraft with some Philip K. Dick thrown in the mix and a dash of erotica. Basically, comic book on acid which gives one hell of a ride. It's a kind of a slowburner, but once it reaches third act, Seeley ups it a notch and we transcend into cocktail of genres. Even though title can give you a hint of what it's all about, believe me when I say, you will expect the thing you'll read. Art is good, however occasionally doesn't fit the mood as it looks too... youthful?
I'm a big fan of Ilias Kyriazis' art so I don't think this review is quite objective.
In this volume, he has created some of his best artwork so far. It's dark, shocking and at times very psychedelic.
The plot seems difficult to follow at first, but as the story progresses, events are explained clearly, so, it turned out to be quite a good sci-fi thriller.
What if a Lovecraftian creature/god/whatever who exists by eating peoples' lives bit by bit until they're drained dry fell in love with you, decided it wanted to keep you alive, and tried to give you the life you've dreamed of? Chloe Lawal literally fucks around and finds out. After a one-night stand turns into something more, Chloe's life starts progressively getting better; is Heath (the aforementioned Lovecraftian horror guy) her lucky charm? Then she starts losing time, feeling like she's forgetting something. Having bad dreams. Seeing horrific, ghost-like things. At the same time, her dream of designing, creating, and selling one-of-a-kind fashions begins to take off, allowing her to quit her delivery job, and hopefully she'll be able to ditch her dollar store job too. Her relationship with her daughter is improving even. So why does she feel like things are missing from her life? How much more will she lose? Seeley brings the unsettling creepy (those ghosty things...yikes!) in this unusual version of a "second chance" story. I enjoyed all the twisty-turny, linear time vs. outside-of-time stuff, even as it all gave me the creeps. The art style isn't my favorite, but it did capture the mood of the story well, especially during the scary bits. And for all the cosmic horror going on, there's a lot of real life, relatable emotions going on to make those scary bits scarier. The ending is bittersweet and satisfying, and wraps up the story well. Overall, a good, weird, creepy tale. 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.
One of the most thought provoking, deep, and uncomfortable comic book I have ever read. Simply Amazing. Read it once. Get blown away. Then go back and read it again, and appreciate how you completely missed it the first time.
"Chronophage" is an erotic horror graphic novel, written by well known horror comic writer, Tim Seeley and drawn by incredible Greek artist, Ilias Kyriazis. The story follows Chloe, a 33 year old woman. When she was 16 she got pregnant and had a daughter, Kai, who she always put first. This changes when she meets Heath. The two of them get in an erotic relationship and weird things start happening. Chloe's clothing project is going very well, but she also starts seeing ghosts, weird dreams and she feels like there's something missing. That, combined with her difficult relationship with her daughter, is giving her a lot of anxiety, until everything is explained, when she finds out that Heath isn't who he seems to be. This was a very interesting graphic novel. The main idea is incredible. Heath is a Chronophage. This means that he has the ability to erase certain moments or entire lives from existence, with the only thing left behind being vague dream-like memories and "ghosts". By consuming these memories he stays alive eternally. In the comic this is slowly explained, in a great way. In general, the pacing is incredible. It starts very slowly and when everything is set, it starts moving way faster and it all leads to an incredible and very powerful ending, which certainly wouldn't be as powerful with a different pacing. This pacing makes all the horror elements very strong, especially towards the end and it helps to create a very unique reading experience. Also, what makes the horror elements very strong is Heath's unique power. He's not just a simple, strong, dangerous character, but instead he's someone with the ability to erase memories. This is terrifying, because it goes against the entire nature of humans. What we've been through, both the good and the bad experiences, make us who we are and are important for us to keep growing. Without memories we are empty, meaningless shells. So, a character who has the ability to erase memories is way scarier than a serial killer or a psychopath. Furthermore, the main character, Chloe, was very well written. She has her own personal goals and ambitions, but the most important thing for her is her daughter and this is ultimately proven by her actions at the end of the comic. Throughout the story we see both her relationship with her daughter and with her mother. These two relationships are often contrasted to show the differences between the generations, but also the similarities. Chloe and her daughter Kai are very different from one another, but they often act in similar ways, especially towards their mothers. Other than a horror story, this also works very well as a study for mother-daughter relationships. Like her mother, Chloe, Kai is also very well written. Kai has vastly different problems from her mother. They both have a lot of anxiety, but her anxiety is mostly a result of the toxic relationship she's in. While she is struggling with her teenage problems, she also really cares about her mother, but she often does the opposite of what she says to her, which is justified by her age. The artwork by Ilias Kyriazis is gorgeous. I've read the majority of Ilias' newer works and some of his older works as well and I think it's clear that this is one of his best and most mature works yet. The artwork has great detail and fits perfectly with the story. The erotic scenes are streamy, while the "ghosts" are horrifying. Also, all the character designs are great and the characters are very easy to tell apart from one another. Moreover, the page structure is always incredible and Ilias' understanding of perspective and his use of negative space are extraordinary. Overall, this was a great horror graphic novel, with a very unique vilain, incredible pacing and fantastic artwork. 9/10
Deeply engaging and deeply disturbing. The story was very interesting, I mean it's not really a spoiler that there is a being that consumes time, a being that literally eats time, it's on the title and summary, but the main character does not know that, so you're at the edge of your seat, or couch, or bed, because you want to see how it goes for the protagonist. I liked her, she feels human, a woman with dreams, a real life, flaws, desires. Like or dislike her, you are rooting for her. I know Ilias' art and I've always loved it and no matter how much gore the story calls for, he'd never shyed away, but this is the first time I was reaaaally thrown off - in a good and justified for the story way - because of an element in the artwork when something happens. Believe me, you'll know when you see it. Ghastly, lovely.
Uma aventura de delicioso horror, escrita por Tim Seeley e ilustrada num elegante e dinâmico estilo expressivo por Ilias Kyriazis. Uma mãe solteira, ainda a sonhar com um futuro enquanto estilista mas a ter de sobreviver para pagar as contas, deixa-se seduzir por um homem algo misterioso. Começa a perceber-se que há detalhes da sua vida que desaparecem, ao ponto da própria filha desaparecer sem deixar memórias. O homem é afinal uma espécie de vampiro, que se alimenta não de sangue, mas de momentos e possibilidades na vida das suas vítimas.
I love a bit of good Sci fi horror, and while this one goes a bit more fantasy than is my personal taste, it delivers on its ideas. Interesting story, interesting art, pretty much hits on all cylinders.
The artwork in this is absolutely brilliant. Really draws you in and makes you feel the story. The story is sci-fi/horror. An interesting concept, well executed. There should also be content warnings for abuse and toxic relationships, which is what brought my rating down to a 3
Storia complessa, bella, narrata bene, che si fa seguire, anzi, si fa letteralmente divorare. Gli storyboard sono letteralmente ideati ad arte e color e disegni sono curati fin nei minimi dettagli.
Epiccccc. I live comics that literally push the boundaries of art and story telling. This is beyond panel to panel. I loved how creepy it was.. but still a human reaction and realistic to the what the fuckaey that ensues