Cartoonist Collins' debut graphic novel is a long, smooth fable of a man whose u
nkempt facial hair ravages the tidy city of Here. Here sits on an island, surrou
nded by the sea, separated from the far-off land of There. And whereas Here is a
ll row houses and trimmed trees and clean cheeks, There is a dark, disordered pl
ace that would mix your insides with your outsides, your befores with your nows
with your nexts-unpleasant business brilliantly depicted in panels breaking acro
ss a single body as it succumbs to chaos.