Michael DeForge's 'Dressing' debuts in Italy with surreal comics

Michael DeForge's 'Dressing' is the first book by the Canadian artist (born 1987) to be published in Italy, released by Eris Edizioni in 2015. The collection features fourteen stories that blend intuition and sensibility into miniature worlds with a mutable, unpredictable style. DeForge, who also works for Cartoon Network as a designer for the award-winning series Adventure Time, has won the Ignatz Award four times and the Doug Wright Award for Best Book for 'Dressing'. His graphic narratives explore uncertainty and absurdity, with characters facing situations beyond their control, often on the verge of radical transformations. The style, described as 'fusion comics' by Frank Santoro, shifts from black-and-white to pop color fields, from immaterial to underground influences. The minimal, precise linework ties the collection together, giving way to abstract geographies in stories like 'All My Friends, Up There, in a Jumbo'. The book includes talking fish, super mothers running above the world, Mars colonists undergoing new anatomies, and friends hijacking a plane to fly forever, sustained by birds caught through windows. DeForge's work draws from interpersonal relationships and surreal vignettes, creating a dreamlike, video-game aura. The volume is 120 pages, priced at €13.50, with ISBN 9788898644278.