What do you think?
Rate this book
Tótem
Diferentes vivencias conectadas entre sí transcurren a lo largo de diferentes viajes, ensoñaciones, lugares y momentos que nos hacen saltar a tiempos y personajes distintos. Cada persona hace su propio viaje. Para algunas será físico, para otras, espiritual, pero todo se integra en un tótem de vivencias. Extractos que forman parte de una totalidad. Un mosaico de experiencias. Laura Pérez da con Tótem un paso más en su consistente trayectoria como autora de cómics tras la novela gráfica Ocultos, obra con la que ganó, entre otros, el prestigioso Premio El Ojo Crítico de Cómic 2020.
144 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2021
4 people are currently reading
778 people want to read
About the author
Laura Pérez
84 books96 followersLaura Pérez (Valencia, 1983) ha trabajado en el ámbito de la ilustración para publicaciones y editoriales nacionales y extranjeras como The Washington Post, National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, Wacom, American Airlines, Fnac, El País, Penguin Random House, entre otras. Participa en libros colectivos de ilustración como Illustration Now! 4 (Taschen), Ilustradores españoles (Lunwerg) o Women’s Club. Art is Powerful (Monsa Publications). Es seleccionada en Communication Arts Illustration Awards y 3x3 The Magazine of Contemporary Illustration. Obtiene el primer premio Valencia Crea 2015 con la historieta “Empatía”. Aparece con una historieta (larga) en el recopilatorio De muerte (GP Ediciones, 2016) y publica su primera novela gráfica, Náufragos (Salamandra, 2016), junto al escritor Pablo Monforte, al ganar el IX Premio Fnac Salamandra Graphic, obra que también se edita en Francia e Italia. Es seleccionada en el I Concurso Nacional de Cómic Biblioteca Insular de Gran Canaria, con la historieta “Juega”, publicada en el recopilatorio En corto (Astiberri, 2018). Actualmente combina trabajos de ilustración y cómic. Ocultos es su primera novela gráfica en solitario.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 170 reviews
![Profile Image for s.penkevich [hiatus-will return-miss you all].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1735525095i%2F6431467._UX200_CR0%2C11%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
June 24, 2025
If you are looking for a book to make you say ‘what the fuck did I just read?’ (appreciative)...well, this is the book for you! Totem, the first English language graphic novel release from author and artist Laura Pérez, is an eerie, surreal tale framed around a woman thinking back on the disappearance of her girlfriend in the Arizona desert, a cacophony of memories collapsing in on themselves triggered by the discovery of another girl’s body. A feast for crows under the sweltering sky yet also a gateway into a fragmentary and preternatural exploration of time and space stretching out beyond the scope of death. With gorgeous, haunting artwork that drapes the narrative in foreboding melancholy, Pérez takes the reader along on the road trip into the desert, beyond the boundaries of the physical world and into the gaps of time where ghosts gather among the living. Somber yet subtly sinister and unsettling, Totem gets under your skin.
'When we are awake, we operate in one state of consciousness. When we sleep, we operate in another. But there are many others. Sometimes, the realities become connected. They fuse together. Like the petals of a desert rose.'
While I have some theories that I’d still like to mull over more after having read this twice now, I suspect it is a story that eludes concrete explanation and is more a puzzle to enjoy the for the sake of pondering rather than a puzzle to crack. Like a good David Lynch film if you’ll forgive the lazy comparison, though I couldn’t help but be reminded of his surrealist “mystery” Mulholland Drive. Though I was also reminded of the Omegamart Meow Wolf interactive art exhibit just outside of Las Vegas. or those who have not experienced a Meow Wolf, definitely look them up and try to go to one it is so worth it, but reading this reminded me of the uncanny and unsettling aspects of the parts of the Omegamart plot with people vanishing between dimensions in the Nevada desert. Totem is an evasive narrative that shifts between time and, possibly, dimensions as well where the idea of emblematic objects (or people) of the title becomes a multi-dimensional and nested metaphor as well. What happened to the missing girlfriend, why do the various other characters in the segments adjacent to the primary narrative look just like them, and can a person be a totem for a ghost now gone?
The artwork in this adds such an incredible layer of intrigue, with the visual elements pulling the story along more than the minimal text upon the pages. It opens it up to an exciting degree of interpretability and Perez seems to keep any direct connections just beyond reach or vaguely disjointed enough to further the disorientation and impression that it is a mystery beyond the scope of the natural state of the human mind. At least confined by the fabric of our daily reality, which seems to be malleable and perhaps permeable here.
But I shan’t say too much because this is a story that is best read unmoored in its unsettling atmosphere and visual extravagance. I’d love to talk theories with anyone however, I wrote a full page of them I’m deleting because experiencing the puzzle and the mystery and the awe is half the excitement. It’s the journey of thought, not the destination, that makes Totem a fever dream of vague menace and fascination.
4/5
'When we are awake, we operate in one state of consciousness. When we sleep, we operate in another. But there are many others. Sometimes, the realities become connected. They fuse together. Like the petals of a desert rose.'
While I have some theories that I’d still like to mull over more after having read this twice now, I suspect it is a story that eludes concrete explanation and is more a puzzle to enjoy the for the sake of pondering rather than a puzzle to crack. Like a good David Lynch film if you’ll forgive the lazy comparison, though I couldn’t help but be reminded of his surrealist “mystery” Mulholland Drive. Though I was also reminded of the Omegamart Meow Wolf interactive art exhibit just outside of Las Vegas. or those who have not experienced a Meow Wolf, definitely look them up and try to go to one it is so worth it, but reading this reminded me of the uncanny and unsettling aspects of the parts of the Omegamart plot with people vanishing between dimensions in the Nevada desert. Totem is an evasive narrative that shifts between time and, possibly, dimensions as well where the idea of emblematic objects (or people) of the title becomes a multi-dimensional and nested metaphor as well. What happened to the missing girlfriend, why do the various other characters in the segments adjacent to the primary narrative look just like them, and can a person be a totem for a ghost now gone?
The artwork in this adds such an incredible layer of intrigue, with the visual elements pulling the story along more than the minimal text upon the pages. It opens it up to an exciting degree of interpretability and Perez seems to keep any direct connections just beyond reach or vaguely disjointed enough to further the disorientation and impression that it is a mystery beyond the scope of the natural state of the human mind. At least confined by the fabric of our daily reality, which seems to be malleable and perhaps permeable here.
But I shan’t say too much because this is a story that is best read unmoored in its unsettling atmosphere and visual extravagance. I’d love to talk theories with anyone however, I wrote a full page of them I’m deleting because experiencing the puzzle and the mystery and the awe is half the excitement. It’s the journey of thought, not the destination, that makes Totem a fever dream of vague menace and fascination.
4/5
March 24, 2024
“When we are awake, we operate in one state of consciousness. When we sleep, we operate in another. But there are many others. Sometimes, the realities become connected. They fuse together. Like the petals of a desert rose.”
Thought-provoking combination of magical and absurdist art and metaphysical concepts.
Thought-provoking combination of magical and absurdist art and metaphysical concepts.
March 28, 2022
2'5 en realidad.
La historia no me ha gustado porque, sinceramente, no la he entendido. Pero el dibujo es precioso.
La historia no me ha gustado porque, sinceramente, no la he entendido. Pero el dibujo es precioso.
October 13, 2024
this dreamy graphic novel feels like a brief imagining, dark and abstract. two lovers on a desert road trip, one slated to disappear. a woman who can speak to the dead, dimensions intertwined.
overall it's rather confusing, but it's a beautifully sinister ride. i love the intensely detailed and super trippy art. some of the characters have truly haunting expressions.
i'm not sure exactly what happened in this eerie little story, but i know i would read more from perez.
overall it's rather confusing, but it's a beautifully sinister ride. i love the intensely detailed and super trippy art. some of the characters have truly haunting expressions.
i'm not sure exactly what happened in this eerie little story, but i know i would read more from perez.
May 19, 2024
No entendí nada. Es de esas veces que necesito me lo expliquen.
Varias historias que se entremezclan, enlazando personajes del presente y del pasado hasta cerrar el círculo.
Creo que quiere hacerme llegar el típico mensaje de todos estamos conectados aquí y en todos los planos de existencia.
Varias historias que se entremezclan, enlazando personajes del presente y del pasado hasta cerrar el círculo.
Creo que quiere hacerme llegar el típico mensaje de todos estamos conectados aquí y en todos los planos de existencia.
August 11, 2024
Después de leer el libro de Snoopy de San Valentín, Alba y yo leímos Tótem en la playita (intento poner énfasis en lo ecléctico de la situación y lo poco que le pega a esta novela gráfica). Esta novela es onírica y extraña, vas recogiendo cositas pero otras parecen pasar sobre las cabezas como los cuervos. Muy bonita y desconcertante, no esperaba nada concreto de ella y creo que es mejor, un road trip a través de los sueños y los recuerdos que no sabes si tiene un destino...
February 18, 2025
Llegando a la mitad del cómic empecé a pensar que en unas cuantas páginas la trama empezaría a aclararse y me enteraría de qué era lo que estaba pasando. Y entonces se terminó. El dibujo es bonito.
August 9, 2024
cómic súper bonito leído de sobremesa en la terraza con vistas al mar mientras me comía un helado de cappuccino del mercadona que me había puesto mi abuela 💌 perfecto
October 31, 2024
the art in this is flawless, maybe one of the most beautiful graphic novels i've ever read. lovely, melancholy, mind-bending story.
July 13, 2022
Tótem • Préstec bibliotecari 2/5
Feia molts dies que tenia ganes de llegir aquesta novel·la gràfica. Molts dies. Em mirava la portada i em cridava molt l'atenció.
L'he llegit i m'ha agradat, però em pensava que m'agradaria molt més.
Les il·lustracions són una passada, tenen un traç propi d'aquesta autora que m'ha enamorat, i tenen un pes importantíssim en aquesta novel·la. Hi ha trams del llibre on no hi ha diàleg. De fet, de diàleg n'hi ha poc en tot el còmic i les il·lustracions tenen el paper principal. Hi ha moments de la història en què és a les mans de qui llegeix interpretar allò que hi passa.
Una parella de noies fan un viatge. Físic o espiritual, i la novel·la combina diversos moments vitals, records i origen.
Les il·lustracions captiven. Però tenia massa expectatives i no m'ha agradat tant com m'imaginava.
Feia molts dies que tenia ganes de llegir aquesta novel·la gràfica. Molts dies. Em mirava la portada i em cridava molt l'atenció.
L'he llegit i m'ha agradat, però em pensava que m'agradaria molt més.
Les il·lustracions són una passada, tenen un traç propi d'aquesta autora que m'ha enamorat, i tenen un pes importantíssim en aquesta novel·la. Hi ha trams del llibre on no hi ha diàleg. De fet, de diàleg n'hi ha poc en tot el còmic i les il·lustracions tenen el paper principal. Hi ha moments de la història en què és a les mans de qui llegeix interpretar allò que hi passa.
Una parella de noies fan un viatge. Físic o espiritual, i la novel·la combina diversos moments vitals, records i origen.
Les il·lustracions captiven. Però tenia massa expectatives i no m'ha agradat tant com m'imaginava.
Read
February 8, 2024I’ll give this a reread when I’m not on the brink of a nervous breakdown. This first read I just felt dumb and didn’t feel anything about what I was seeing. I also read it at a bar that cages its tv to prevent theft, so a lot going on.
July 19, 2023
«Siempre supiste adónde íbamos (…) Un viaje con direcciones distintas.»
March 3, 2024
I like these open-ended and mysterious narratives, and the art is relatively simple but effective. Wish there was more for me to get a handle on though.
November 23, 2025
Una historia diferente que no puedes leer de una sentada. Tienes que reposarlo y pensar bien en lo que quiere transmitir. Laura nos habla de la muerte, desde una visión más bien paranormal en la que se entrelazan historias. Me ha gustado leerlo porque llevaba días reflexionando acerca de la muerte y desde como ahora la sociedad hace que no existe.
April 12, 2022
Doy gracias a que lo cogí de la biblioteca para ver como era. Es el primer comic que leo de esta chica que ya llevaba tiempo escuchando. En esta historia nos vamos a encontrar unos dibujos con un dibujo muy claro, centrado en lo que quiere plasmar en el dibujo olvidando el entorno, y pocos personajes que den vida a la historia. No es muda, pero su dialogo es casi testimonial.
Cuando mezclamos tanta escena visual, con tematica de muerte y sueños, se deja tanto lugar a la imaginnacion que cuesta seguir el camino por el que te quiere llevar. Lo terminé esperando alguna escena final que lo aclarase todo, pero te deja con mas preguntas que respuestas.
Si pensaba en leer Ocultos en naufragos pues lo seguire pensando mientras sigo reduciendo mi cola de pendientes de comics que se que son entre 4 y 5 estrellas
Cuando mezclamos tanta escena visual, con tematica de muerte y sueños, se deja tanto lugar a la imaginnacion que cuesta seguir el camino por el que te quiere llevar. Lo terminé esperando alguna escena final que lo aclarase todo, pero te deja con mas preguntas que respuestas.
Si pensaba en leer Ocultos en naufragos pues lo seguire pensando mientras sigo reduciendo mi cola de pendientes de comics que se que son entre 4 y 5 estrellas
February 19, 2022
El dibujo y los colores preciosos, pero la historia, no tengo ni la más remota idea de qué va ni la entiendo.
June 18, 2024
my best friend told me i should check this one out by saying 'i think you'd dig it, i only half understand what the fuck that was' and i was like I'M IN. anyways yeah they were right this was so good and i do not understand at all what was happening but who cares!! ghosts! lesbians! ghost lesbians? maybe, who knows! the art was so lovely and it had such cool eerie vibes, would highly recommend reading.
February 7, 2024
It’s more 3.5 stars but there’s no half stars and I don’t think I can bump it to 4.
The artwork is stunning, I love the really hand drawn style, the flat colors, the character design, and the color choices. I love that I can see the artists hand, especially in the full page artwork during the ritual - it’s gorgeous.
I can appreciate a nonlinear story, and I really love how the artist told the story so expressively, largely without words, sometimes without the confines of panel and gutter style, sometimes showing many moments in time in a single panel, etc. I totally understand this is a mystical sort of work that is exploring some themes of occult and magik and death/consciousness and I think the art really works with these ideas. I just like wanted more? Which is not what this book is, there isn’t some long narrative to follow, it ebs and flows through time, and space, and characters (maybe, I’m not even sure if I’m interpreting all the characters correctly and if they are like generations of the same family - what I thought - or if it’s all the same person at different parts of their life or if it’s just totally random people). So I guess what I want from this book is not what this book is, it just sets up such an interesting idea and story at the very beginning, and then explores like the theoretical spiritual around this idea, rather than the idea itself. Which is cool, but just not fully my bag. Very cool looking though and a nice one sitting read for sure.
The artwork is stunning, I love the really hand drawn style, the flat colors, the character design, and the color choices. I love that I can see the artists hand, especially in the full page artwork during the ritual - it’s gorgeous.
I can appreciate a nonlinear story, and I really love how the artist told the story so expressively, largely without words, sometimes without the confines of panel and gutter style, sometimes showing many moments in time in a single panel, etc. I totally understand this is a mystical sort of work that is exploring some themes of occult and magik and death/consciousness and I think the art really works with these ideas. I just like wanted more? Which is not what this book is, there isn’t some long narrative to follow, it ebs and flows through time, and space, and characters (maybe, I’m not even sure if I’m interpreting all the characters correctly and if they are like generations of the same family - what I thought - or if it’s all the same person at different parts of their life or if it’s just totally random people). So I guess what I want from this book is not what this book is, it just sets up such an interesting idea and story at the very beginning, and then explores like the theoretical spiritual around this idea, rather than the idea itself. Which is cool, but just not fully my bag. Very cool looking though and a nice one sitting read for sure.
May 3, 2024
Tótem opens with a striking image of a dead woman's body at an archaeological dig site before the story flashes back to two women going on a road trip through the Arizona desert. Carmen and Yukio seek self-discovery in the desolate sands of the American southwest, but their journey is mired with a mosaic of strange activities. The narrative is structured in a rather nonlinear fashion where varied segments are stitched together in an almost dreamlike way, which cultivates a rather eerie tone. Death and loss are at the forefront of Tótem as Carmen comes to terms with events in her past and future. It's a book with lofty thematic goals, but only held back by the relative sparseness of the actual prose. The slightness of the dialogue may seem that way due to translation issues, but in general it doesn't seem like there was all that much story on the table. A lot is obscured by the vagueness of the narration, but also in the disordered structuring of the story.
What does work really well is Laura Pérez's very confident linework. There's a feathery look to the artwork which makes for some pretty enticing modern designs, and the use of slight but flat colors further compound the dreamlike tone of the story. It's very atmospheric, as the setting is incredibly realized by Pérez's artwork. The overall brevity of the story makes it so that I'm not too appealed with returning for a re-read, but to just flip through the artwork would be more worthwhile.
What does work really well is Laura Pérez's very confident linework. There's a feathery look to the artwork which makes for some pretty enticing modern designs, and the use of slight but flat colors further compound the dreamlike tone of the story. It's very atmospheric, as the setting is incredibly realized by Pérez's artwork. The overall brevity of the story makes it so that I'm not too appealed with returning for a re-read, but to just flip through the artwork would be more worthwhile.
June 2, 2024
3.5-3.75?
Ok so to be honest, I have no idea what I just read but I think i still loved it? The artwork itself is a 10/10-- it's beautiful, but also mysterious, a little spooky, and the color palette changes really affected the vibes of their sections effectively. This is a story about a missing woman, ghosts, and a road trip through Arizona, but there were also a ton of timelines thrown in without much context. We aren't given many names, and sometimes the characters look similar enough that i can't tell who's who. The author isn't interested in holding hands with this narrative and I believe most of it is intentionally baffling. I'm here for the vibes, but I wouldn't recommend this to anyone that wants clear answers.
Ok so to be honest, I have no idea what I just read but I think i still loved it? The artwork itself is a 10/10-- it's beautiful, but also mysterious, a little spooky, and the color palette changes really affected the vibes of their sections effectively. This is a story about a missing woman, ghosts, and a road trip through Arizona, but there were also a ton of timelines thrown in without much context. We aren't given many names, and sometimes the characters look similar enough that i can't tell who's who. The author isn't interested in holding hands with this narrative and I believe most of it is intentionally baffling. I'm here for the vibes, but I wouldn't recommend this to anyone that wants clear answers.
December 5, 2024
3.5 stars. In interlocking narratives and flashbacks, a recent murder case frames the protagonist's memories of her girlfriend's disappearance. The art is exceptionally clean, airy, with a minor (if intentional) case of same face syndrome which makes the abstruse plot a little too hard to follow, especially in the middle sections. But that floaty style, the cultivated inaccessibility, also invites interpretation, without which the vague spiritual/interconnectedness plot might be a little too hand-wavey. I read this twice, seeking more depth and coherency on reread; and it reads fast, its atmosphere is captivating, but I didn't find that payoff.
February 24, 2022
Dibujos y desarrollo de las escenas muy bonitos si bien no entendí bien la historia completa, creo que intentaré volver a leerlo para ver si me he perdido algo que me está impidiendo entenderlo de forma global.
February 15, 2023
Las viñetas son preciosas y tiene un estilo propio increíble, pero me falta un poco más de profundidad en las historias, no en diálogo, sino en velocidad de transcurso. La trama es chuli y el final cuqui/inquietante!
December 26, 2021
Laura tiene un estilo espectacular. Gráficamente maravilloso y muy bien narrado. Me dejó poso y estuve pensando en la historia días después de leerlo.
April 11, 2022
El dibujo de Laura Pérez es increíble, la temática paranormal también. Todo un festín para la vista.
January 28, 2024
I have... no idea what I just read? But it was still like, beautiful?
February 6, 2025
Very interesting graphic novel and I had to re-read it a few times to track the characters and timelines. The art is very beautiful and surreal which adds to the supernatural theme. I feel like I somewhat grasp what's going on but at the same time I'm also unsure. Timeline merging? Various realities? Past lives? Ghostly possession of human bodies as totems for unfinished business? Aliens?? (maybe not that one).
March 23, 2024
Last bit of the log line on the back cover nails it: "Spanish comics artist Laura Perez spins a web of magic and mystery in wispy pencil lines." This was a random Fantagraphics release from 2023 I didn't get to until now - long, long wait at the library for this title for some reason. Not 100% sure what happened but I think that's the point. Very mysterious roadtrip into the Arizona wilderness dissolves into dreams; beautiful illustrations.
July 30, 2025
A dream-like puzzle of a graphic novel. It's quite short, but incredibly dense with its loaded imagery. There are clues and patterns everywhere. Or maybe I'm just seeing things...
That said, what I'm left with is a vague, yet effective feeling that there are ways in which the living and the dead, past current and future lives are connected. And the journey through that is quite magical, even if it's lacking in closure.
That said, what I'm left with is a vague, yet effective feeling that there are ways in which the living and the dead, past current and future lives are connected. And the journey through that is quite magical, even if it's lacking in closure.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 170 reviews