Tongues, Vol. 1

Three-time Ignatz Award winner Nilsen (The End) pairs his trademark minimalist artwork with profound meditations on revenge, survival, and the human condition in this retelling of the Greek myth of Prometheus, the Greek titan whose gift of fire to humanity resulted in him being sentenced to suffer eternal torment. Nilsen’s spin on the classic story is set in modern times, taking place in an oil-rich Central Asian nation ravaged by conflict between rival gangs. Prometheus has formed an uneasy but vital friendship with the eagle tasked with devouring his liver each day of the past several centuries, but this unlikely friendship has done nothing to ease the long-suffering titan’s desire for revenge against the Olympian gods. Nilsen interweaves Prometheus’s scheming with several other surreal plotlines, including the misadventures of an East African orphan and the wanderings of a powerful young man with a teddy bear strapped to his back who wields seemingly godlike powers. Nilsen’s use of frequently silent panels, expansive landscapes, and deliberate pacing evokes a quiet intensity that feels both timeless and contemporary.