Swoon Now! - In The Flesh

Israeli-born but New York based Koren Shadmi has been working as an illustrator for several years and has been published in France before Villard Books released this collection of short stories entitled In The Flesh.

And there is a lot of flesh on display here. Each story touches on sex as Shadmi looks at the vagueness and apparently random nature of desire, inadequacy and perversion. He represents this by infusing elements of the abstract into the mundane - in one story about a one night stand everyone wears a paper bag over their head, in another no-one seems concerned by the fact that a woman carries her head around with her. In 'Cruelty' it's simply the imaginative layouts that convey the torment of the protagonist.

Shadmi is a very good illustrator and even when a story seems a little too whimsical, the confident, flowing grey tone artwork is never less than attractive and interesting. Examples of his colour work are popping up now (see above) and it's well worth looking at his website. SLS

In the Flesh £11 / orders@davescomics.co.uk / In stock and ready to post.