Apathy meets absurdism in ‘Baby in the Boneyard’, a comic about a baby who finds himself living in an unfamiliar habitat surrounded by unusual creatures. What unfolds is a story centered on the baby as he observes the culture of the monstrous species that he finds himself being raised by, describing their life cycle, mood changes, hunting, and reproductive habits.
If you are someone who wants to know why the baby is in the boneyard, this isn’t the book for you. If you are content to take in the information provided about the strange beings living in the boneyard for the time you are given with them- 28 staple-bound pages- then this may very well be the book for you.
‘Baby in the Boneyard’ is one of the many comics written by Jesse Jacobs, a prominent voice in the Canadian new wave comic scene and an animator on the widely successful Cartoon Network TV show, Adventure Time. He is described as the master of weirdness, creating work with a geometric style that gives order and discipline to the strange and organic content of his stories.
This particular comic is an excellent introduction to his work, highlighting the very stylistic qualities and strange subject matter that make his art stand out. The publisher of the book, Hollow Press, describes it as a “story with high sensitivity about a baby grown up by weird creatures from a psychedelic, creepy world.”
The comic could be read very quickly, toting a relatively simple plot. However, the visual language is sort of magnetic, keeping the reader engaged and wrapped up in a narrative that otherwise is over before it begins. Every page is carefully constructed, measured, and balanced to perfection. Along with this, Jacobs deploys striking color work. The comic is predominantly black and green with the white of the paper as a counterbalance, aiding in creating the self-contained energy of the story.
So, what’s going on in the boneyard?
A baby lives among creatures that he has nothing in common with, feeling isolated even as the strange monsters attempt to show the baby tenderness. At first, the baby observes them curiously, but by the end of the comic, the baby is frustrated by the creatures and no longer sees anything but inferiority. The creatures do not have the tools to adequately care for the baby, failing to create an environment that properly nurtures him.
It’s a plot that revolves around the baby’s judgment about the monsters it has come to unwillingly know as his family.
Someone might argue that this comic is strange for the sake of being strange. I wouldn’t disagree with them.
If I were pressed, though, to identify a theme within the imagery of ‘Baby in the Boneyard’, I would say something about the underlying feeling of alienation. I would say something about the barriers that exist in our minds that keep us from wanting to bridge gaps in communication, content to see the unusual as nothing more than a phenomenon to be observed and left behind for a life that feels more familiar.
The baby who lives in the boneyard does not wonder how he found himself in this situation; he does not question the life he is living, and he does not search for meaning in it. He remains a disinterested and passive observer of the creatures and eventually leaves them behind to be forgotten.
Honestly, the baby was kind of an asshole. But I think I would be, too, if I were living in that boneyard.
Perhaps Jacobs is making a commentary on apathy. Perhaps Jacobs is merely drawing hypnotic and unusual creatures coexisting with an angry infant. Either way, ‘Baby in the Boneyard’ is a fascinating and entrancing read, elegantly and expertly illustrated.
If you want to hypothesize about the meaning of connection while flipping through captivating visuals, this is absolutely the comic for you.