Lala, Paranoid Apartment, 2013
I love it when artists step outside of their comfort zones and try something challenging. With this new comic from Lala, she accomplishes this by forcing herself to work with more of a structure on the page. By placing the restriction of a grid on her comic for the first time, Lala is more creative with less freedom and she excels at this. The textures and distortions compliment the ordered grid and there are often multiple, interesting visual ideas within one panel.
The story follows a woman who is crippled by anxiety, wondering what will kill her first–the ceiling caving in over her bed, the kitchen knife, the slippery bathroom floor? Her anxiety seems to manifest itself into a ghost which haunts her own apartment and the new subletter. Anxiety is a cruel beast that can feel independent from yourself–like a specter following you and taking advantage of your weakest moments. Even moments free from debilitating fear carry the possibility of a visit. This sense of foreboding is clearly displayed throughout the piece.
I’ve been following Lala’s work now for practically a decade and this feels like (another) huge step forward.
You can purchase here, from Sacred Prism.
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