“The Mysteries” is a “fable for grown-ups” by Bill Watterson of “Calvin and Hobbes” renown and John Kascht, caricaturist of celebrities. Composed in black-and-white, it’s structured like a dream. None of the characters have names, the images combine impressionistic painting (Watterson’s work) with intricately layered 3D models and sculptures (Kascht’s), almost like looking inside a diorama. The left side of each page has a line or two from an omniscient narrator, with the accompanying artwork on the right.
The fable begins in a troubled kingdom in a dark forest, where the people are tormented by the Mysteries, leading the king to send an expedition of knights outside the realm to put an end to the terror gripping the domain. Much later, one knight returns and …
Well, it’s hard to say much more about this trim story without spoiling the rest of the novel. The point is in the allegory, found in what’s not said, what’s not revealed. It’s about how we fear what we don’t know, how this stunts our growth. It’s about how we lose respect for what we don’t know, how this pride precedes the fall.
You may have gathered by now that this graphic novel is nothing like “Calvin and Hobbes.” Don’t go in expecting that, because you won’t get it. As someone who loved the comic strip as a kid, I remember how toward the end of his run, Watterson seemed to be more interested in the artwork of the Sunday strips than in telling linear stories during the rest of the week, and that preference is still there in “The Mysteries.” You’ll still get something out of it if you judge it on its own terms, and it would make a great Christmas gift for someone who’s a fan of the artist.
But if you want to deepen your appreciation for both works, once you’re done reading “The Mysteries,” go re-read the last “Calvin and Hobbes” strip Watterson ever drew, where Calvin and his tiger friend left us with the enlightenment that the kingdom in “The Mysteries” is searching for.
• “The Mysteries” by Bill Watterson and John Kascht was published by Andrews McMeel Publishing on Oct. 10. It retails for $19.99.
• Chris Saunders is a bookseller and out-of-print specialist for Inklings Bookshop. He and other Inklings staffers review books in this space every week.