Tales of Error

by Thomas Ott

Europe's master of modern wordless horror returns with his third book. With T. Ott's Tales of Error , Ott directs a nod toward the classic horror formulas of EC Comics ( Tales from the Crypt, Shock SuspenStories, Weird Science ) and Rod Serling's Twilight Zone , with a decidedly contemporary spin. This collection contains six beautifully rendered and horrific stories. "Honeymoon," the opening story, depicts the love and happiness of Doris and Dave, to the shock of their friends. A final postcard of the couple's honeymoon reveals the happy duo to be literally joined at the as Siamese twins. E.C. purists will surely appreciate Ott's skillful manipulation of images and text, seemingly directing readers in one narrative direction before leading to an unexpected but credible ending worthy of O. Henry. From the classic war story to unraveled romance, Ott puts his personal twist on several classic genres. Adding to his large European audience, particularly in France and Germany, Ott continues to build an American audience. His meticulous scratchboard style is unparalleled in its craftsmanship, provoking awe and admiration in the face of the repeated horrors portrayed; Ott is unequivocally one of the preeminent horror cartoonists being published today. 48 pages b/w illustrations.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Short Stories, Crime

48 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

"Thomas Ott was born in Zürich in 1966. He received training as a graphic artist at the School of Design in Zürich and has been a free-lance comics artist and illustrator since 1987. From 1998-2001 Ott attended film studies at the University of Art and Design (HGK), Zürich. He currently lives and works in Zürich and Paris. Ott is also the lead singer of The Playboys." -Fantagraphics Books

Reviews

[☾❀Apple✩ Blossom⋆｡˚ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first *almost* silent short story collection by Thomas Ott.



1. Honeymoon
A couple of star-crossed lovers finds its way to marriage, and its definitely not a conventional one.



2. Hero
Sometimes the best intentions can have the worst consequences.



3. Clean up
His mom definitely taught him how to clean up after himself.



4. A wrinkled tragedy
Looks are deceiving. Especially if done on purpose.



5. Headbanger
A story of war and death.



6. Ten ways to kill your husband
This is exactly what it says.



I absolutely adored this collection. The signature black and white "scratched" style was already full-developed in Ott's first graphic novel, and on what extent! I found this one the most complete and utterly fascinating of his novels. Extremely disturbing, it reminded me of Junji Ito's best works, and I couldn't find any trace of that lack of originality which prevented me from liking his other works 100%. A collection of horrors definitely not for the faint of heart; also warning for explicit sex scenes.

[Forrest · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe I went about this all backwards. I read Ott's phenomenal Cinema Panopticum first, then his lesser, but still worthy Dead End, and, finally, Tales of Error. To be fair, this is Ott's first graphic novel, and I'm reading it last of the three graphic novels of his that I've read. So this backward chronological crawl has been a disappointment. It's easy to see Ott's progression as a storyteller over time. I suppose I was operating under the mistaken notion that an author's/artist's first work is oftentimes his best. Well, forget that theory. Of the six vignettes contained in Tales of Error, I felt the first, "Honeymoon," and the third, "Clean Up," were decent. Not great, but decent. The others . . . mmm, not so much. The whole volume seemed like a more stylized pastiche of Robert Crumb mingled with the old Creepy comic book. My least favorite of Ott's work so far, but not enough to stop me from wanting to read The Number 73304-23-4153-6-96-8.

[Nazım · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thomas Ott ve onun sebepsiz rahatsız ediciliği yine çok güzel. Kısa 6 öyküden oluşan epey az metinli bir kitap. Zaten öyküleri anlamak için metinlere çok ihtiyacınız yok. Çizgiler tek başına bile fazlasıyla yetiyor. Bu çizgiler elbette Thomas Ott klasiği olan kazıma tekniği ile üretilmiş.

Açılış hikayesi “Honeymoon” ve kapanış hikayesi “10 ways to kill your husband” şahsi favorilerim.

Özellikle belirtmek gerekiyor ki Türk okurunun seveceği türden bir iş değil, o yüzden ihtiyatlı yaklaşmakta fayda var.

[Youssef]

مذهل هذا الرجل.. Thomas Ott هو اكتشاف العام بالنسبة لي. أجواء كابوسية مخيفة ودقة بالرسم، وحكايات غريبة بها شيء من روح كافكا..

[Sooraya Evans · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not as good as his other books.

[Salty Swift · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another one in a series of Thomas Ott off-the-wall and twisted graphic treasures....

[Dewi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ada 6 kisah pendek dalam buku ini : Honeymoon, The Hero, Clean Up!, A Wrinkled Tragedy, Headbanger dan 10 Ways to Kill Your Husband. Thomas Ott begitu piawai mengolah 6 kisah dalam 46 halaman. Satu kisah bisa terdiri dari 3 halaman gambar namun sanggup menghantarkan kengerian dan keanehan yang tidak terduga.

Kisah favorit saya adalah Honeymoon. Bila diterjemahkan secara kasar seperti demikian :

Bulan Madu
-Thomas Ott-

Butuh waktu untuk mengakuinya, namun pada suatu malam, perasaan mereka semakin kuat.
Kian hari makin nyata bahwa hubungan ini akan berlanjut ke jenjang pernikahan.
Keluarga mereka terkejut dan mencoba menghalangi dengan berbagai cara.
Menikah dalam situasi seperti itu adalah absurd dan salah.
Tetapi rasa cinta lebih kuat.
Upacara pernikahan mereka berlangsung di tempat yang tenang. Sayangnya barang-barang mereka dicuri saat berbulan madu. Satu-satunya yang tersisa adalah selembar foto.
Mereka masih bersama sampai sekarang dan ketahuilah bahwa tak ada apa pun di dunia ini yang mampu memisahkan mereka.
[ panel terakhir : selembar foto kembar siam berbeda jenis kelamin, dua kepala dua badan dan satu pasang kaki ]

:D

[Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual from Ott, this is cut-rate unsettling stuff. He's the only western comics artist who has ever effected me in the same way Junji Ito does.

[Ci · Rating 3 out of 5]

eerieee as always

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somehow didn’t realize that this is comprised of stuff that’s also featured in the “R.I.P.” collection. Whoops! Still fun to revisit a handful of Ott stories, though.

[Just a Girl Fighting Censorship · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very dark and violent. The stories aren't especially clever, just disturbing.

[Canavan · Rating 2 out of 5]

✭✭

[Gonzalo Oyanedel · Rating 3 out of 5]

La muy particular visión artística de Thomas Ott, vertida en breves historias que caminan sobre el filo que divide el horror y el humor negro.

[Kirsti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly wordless scratchboard art. Heavily influenced by EC horror comics and war comics.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only one or two is worth remembering, and all seem like recycled Twilight Zones or Tales from the Crypts.

[Javier Jiménez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esta obra consiste en un conjunto de historias de horror muy breves, en la cual lo más especial es el arte. Los dibujos no son a color y tienen un estilo expresionista fantástico que junto al horror físico de las historias deja una impresión muy agradable para los amantes del género. Los dibujos son tan buenos que de hecho casi no hay texto en las historias, ya que los trazos expresan perfectamente las situaciones y emociones de los personajes. Cada página es una obra de arte. En particular me encantó "A wrinkled tragedy". Lástima que sea tan breve el libro, pero afortunadamente Thomas Ott tiene más novelas gráficas de las que podemos disfrutar.

[محمود راضي · Rating 3 out of 5]

أول عمل مصور أقرأه على الإطلاق للسويسري توماس أوت يملك أفكار مخيفة شديدة الخصوصية لا يسردها إلا بالاعتماد على الصورة بالغة الكابوسية التي يخلقها ويؤكد عليها في كل قصة ضمن ثنايا هذا الكتاب، ويملك صوت خاص شجعني حتمًا لقراءة بقية أعماله.

[Sarah Gamal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has 6 stories; 3 of them completely freaked me out!