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Gristle
A creeping horror about an isolated, paranoid young woman and a mysterious fleshy plant. Confined to her home, Olive finds a strange pink fungal plant while out on one of her walks. Deciding to bring it back with her, she is increasingly drawn to it, at times comforted by it and at times repulsed. Odd things begin happening... But are they a product of Olive's feverish, building cabin fever, or is something more sinister going on?
62 pages, Paperback
Published September 1, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 13, 2022
v much loved this + the concept of loneliness/depression manifested as an ugly fleshy plant.
January 9, 2023
Awesome artwork and great story that gave me the creeps in a good way. Love it!
March 23, 2024
I've been wanting to get this for a little over a year now and shortbox closing down forced my hand! I'm glad I got this.
Olive brings home a pink fleshy lump from the woods and later goes back (or dreams that she goes back?) there to find a tree with a similar lump on it, but this one has a face which begs her to leave it alone. I thought it was her boyfriend at first, but I think that's unlikely given how it ends with the flesh lump calling him and lying about how Olive is doing really well now. I think its symbolism to show that loneliness (what the pink flesh lump represents), when allowed to overtake you, can keep you "rooted" to one spot, much like how Olive forces herself to stay inside her house, and push away others, like how Olive doesn't text or call her friends and instead badmouths them to a flesh lump, and the tree person who has seen less people in a greater amount of time than Olive presumably tells her to leave.
We see her cuddling the lump, her loneliness, after accidentally freezing it in her fridge after it melted. She says "I just haven't been--" and then touches the lump, and it melts. Perhaps that moment of clarity was threatening to her loneliness, like her taking responsibility for bad actions could lead to her doing the same in regards to ghosting her friends and boyfriend, and the lump orchestrates this moment to make itself seem weaker to garner sympathy, even though when it's being taken out of the fridge, it is not melting; because it was not feeling pain. It just wanted her to be closer to it. The next page, after her falling asleep on the kitchen floor with it in her arms, it sticks to her; but she does nothing except rinse it off. Now the lump knows she doesn't want to hurt it, even after emotions go down.
Then we see her imagining that she's crawled into the lump's mouth, a foreshadowing for her becoming loneliness later on.
She then discovers that the lump has caused all of her friends to believe that she was doing great, and not lonely. She gets mad at the lump, her loneliness, and eats it. This reminds me of people who know what their problem, yell about it, but ultimately just make it worse in the process. KNOWING that your loneliness is harming you does nothing; reconnecting with others, taking care of your body and environment, making an effort to make your situation as better as it can be, that's what helps.
But she eats it. (She also repeats "you're just flesh!" at it repeatedly as she cooks it, reminding me of self harm). She feels a little sick and sits on the floor.
Finally, we see another thing be pink in the entire story; her outfit as she curls in bed, hand over her face, either dreaming or thinking of the forest again. Melted pink drips upwards, like it's coming at her.
Then, we see something I didn't expect! Her house is clean, her clothes are clean. She's getting ready to hang with a friend! She has pink eyes now...then she feeds the lump that has attached itself to her stomach. She cleans it's drool, then with a scowl or sad expression, readies herself and walks out the door which has only forest leaves, no pink, crawling into her house, one gripping her ankle. I think this is kind of like what I said above; that to get better, you have to do the things that will make you happier, even if at first they just make you tired and sad, as she looks (either way you'll be tired and sad, might as well not stay in stasis). I think the forestry coming through her door shows a dangerous world, one that got her once by introducing this loneliness to her, but that she's going to face now regardless of the danger.
Or, it could mean that the loneliness is fully controlling her body, which makes some sense given how her scowl in the last few pages looks almost dazed, whereas before, even when she was very depressed she was more expressive.
And the title being gristle--like the lump she ate was gristly, hard to chew with no flavor, not something you're supposed to ingest--heightens the story for me.
Anyways I don't know if this is what was intended but I think it was fun to think about it.
Olive brings home a pink fleshy lump from the woods and later goes back (or dreams that she goes back?) there to find a tree with a similar lump on it, but this one has a face which begs her to leave it alone. I thought it was her boyfriend at first, but I think that's unlikely given how it ends with the flesh lump calling him and lying about how Olive is doing really well now. I think its symbolism to show that loneliness (what the pink flesh lump represents), when allowed to overtake you, can keep you "rooted" to one spot, much like how Olive forces herself to stay inside her house, and push away others, like how Olive doesn't text or call her friends and instead badmouths them to a flesh lump, and the tree person who has seen less people in a greater amount of time than Olive presumably tells her to leave.
We see her cuddling the lump, her loneliness, after accidentally freezing it in her fridge after it melted. She says "I just haven't been--" and then touches the lump, and it melts. Perhaps that moment of clarity was threatening to her loneliness, like her taking responsibility for bad actions could lead to her doing the same in regards to ghosting her friends and boyfriend, and the lump orchestrates this moment to make itself seem weaker to garner sympathy, even though when it's being taken out of the fridge, it is not melting; because it was not feeling pain. It just wanted her to be closer to it. The next page, after her falling asleep on the kitchen floor with it in her arms, it sticks to her; but she does nothing except rinse it off. Now the lump knows she doesn't want to hurt it, even after emotions go down.
Then we see her imagining that she's crawled into the lump's mouth, a foreshadowing for her becoming loneliness later on.
She then discovers that the lump has caused all of her friends to believe that she was doing great, and not lonely. She gets mad at the lump, her loneliness, and eats it. This reminds me of people who know what their problem, yell about it, but ultimately just make it worse in the process. KNOWING that your loneliness is harming you does nothing; reconnecting with others, taking care of your body and environment, making an effort to make your situation as better as it can be, that's what helps.
But she eats it. (She also repeats "you're just flesh!" at it repeatedly as she cooks it, reminding me of self harm). She feels a little sick and sits on the floor.
Finally, we see another thing be pink in the entire story; her outfit as she curls in bed, hand over her face, either dreaming or thinking of the forest again. Melted pink drips upwards, like it's coming at her.
Then, we see something I didn't expect! Her house is clean, her clothes are clean. She's getting ready to hang with a friend! She has pink eyes now...then she feeds the lump that has attached itself to her stomach. She cleans it's drool, then with a scowl or sad expression, readies herself and walks out the door which has only forest leaves, no pink, crawling into her house, one gripping her ankle. I think this is kind of like what I said above; that to get better, you have to do the things that will make you happier, even if at first they just make you tired and sad, as she looks (either way you'll be tired and sad, might as well not stay in stasis). I think the forestry coming through her door shows a dangerous world, one that got her once by introducing this loneliness to her, but that she's going to face now regardless of the danger.
Or, it could mean that the loneliness is fully controlling her body, which makes some sense given how her scowl in the last few pages looks almost dazed, whereas before, even when she was very depressed she was more expressive.
And the title being gristle--like the lump she ate was gristly, hard to chew with no flavor, not something you're supposed to ingest--heightens the story for me.
Anyways I don't know if this is what was intended but I think it was fun to think about it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 26, 2022
2022 Read A Graphic Novel Every Week Challenge - 45/52
If you go down to the woods today, be careful of what you find and take home. Or possibly be careful of yourself. In Gristle, the main character brings back a fungus/growth/WTF she finds in the woods and things get slowly more creepy. Is it a parable of the main character's depression or a monster story (why not both)? Deploys one of my very favourite comic techniques of everything being black and white except for a little colour, in this case the creepy fungus thing being bright pink. Unsettling.
Also read on Christmas Day, seriously, I do not know how to pick comics to read on appropriate days.
If you go down to the woods today, be careful of what you find and take home. Or possibly be careful of yourself. In Gristle, the main character brings back a fungus/growth/WTF she finds in the woods and things get slowly more creepy. Is it a parable of the main character's depression or a monster story (why not both)? Deploys one of my very favourite comic techniques of everything being black and white except for a little colour, in this case the creepy fungus thing being bright pink. Unsettling.
Also read on Christmas Day, seriously, I do not know how to pick comics to read on appropriate days.
November 26, 2021
A haunting, aching piece about spiralling loneliness and fear. I could feel the protagonist's terror and desperation in my gut. Really beautiful artwork and effective use of colour. I loved the ongoing pink theme and visual storytelling. Never not had a unique experience with a Shotbox comic!
September 25, 2024
oh this was WEIRD!!! Excellent depiction of depression and anxiety, but also so delectably horrifying. i need to reread this a bunch to understand wtf i just read. a slay all around!!!!!
rep: mentally ill MC
spice: none
rep: mentally ill MC
spice: none
November 14, 2021
review to follow
December 4, 2021
Really fucking weird, in a good way.
December 15, 2021
Creepy, gross, disturbing. So, an excellent read!
December 21, 2021
Neat little piece of horror – sparing color use throughout is absolutely sublime
January 4, 2022
Uncanny, unsetting, gross and vivid pops of pink throughout the grey, weird, strange, love it
September 9, 2022
All the right kind of weird.
March 30, 2025
A short story about loneliness, depression, jealousy and a creepy pink fleshy mould on a tree.
Read
August 7, 2022Please God someone explain to me what I just read.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews