Forget Me Not

(Paperback)

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Description

Death stalks a quartet of girls or is it the other way around

A simple, elemental story of a group of adorable, little girls evading the specter of Death perfectly complements Gabriel Howells poetic diary/manifesto/wishlist. What looks like a Victorian childrens book complete with moral lessons, depicts an internal and external tug-of-war between vulnerability and intimacy, relatability and honesty, observation and isolation. The message remains raw and uncensored: dont hide it in a book; forget about who is or isnt watching; Forget Me Not.

Reviews

"Howell debuts with a collection of darkly poetic vignettes that use the aesthetic of Victorian-era childrens books to capture personal riffs on such contradictions as strength vs. vulnerability, visibility vs. privacy, and artistic creation vs. suffering. These play out through four doll-like young girls named Complications, Heartache, Rebellion, and Commitment. The fifth major character is a shrouded figure who represents death, self-doubt, isolation, and mental anguish. Howells elegant black-and-white drawings depict the girls grimly engaging in childish horseplay, driven by a narrative that pokes at romanticized views of insecurity, suffering, and visibility. One drawing represents the girls hanging around a tree, with caption boxes stating, Self proclaimed broken people can paint beautiful pictures.... I dont want to know pain just to find meanings. Elsewhere, Howell insists that being strong takes its toll: What doesnt kill you makes you stronger I dont want to be brave again and again. Eventually, the girls engage the shrouded figure in a fight to the death, with the suggestion that they are destined to do this repeatedly. Art comics aficionados will find much to appreciate in Howells edgy, Gothic vision." - Publishers Weekly

"Like a cherished keepsake rebelling against the cruelties of an online auction, the wayward waifs of Howells porcelain landscape are forced to fight their way through splintered selfhood in a broken world. Vulnerable and scrappy, wistful and ferocious, Forget Me Not is a sharp pinch in a tender place" Edie Fake, author of Gaylord Phoenix

"Forget Me Not captures the painful balance of nakedness, shame, dread, loneliness, and anger that drives those of us who make our living from the curiosity and hunger of the public." Carta Monir, author of Secure Connect

Author Bio

Gabriel Howell is a trans male cartoonist, illustrator, and printmaker. Howell was born in a small rural town in northern North Carolina in 1996, but only ever considered Chicago home. In 2018, he received his BFA from School of the Arts Institute of Chicago. He currently lives in Los Angeles with pop musician wife, doing design and illustration work for musicians like Phoebe Bridgers, 100 gecs, Perfect Hair Forever and PC Music, and WKND skateboards.