Cochlea & Eustachia (Fantagraphics) Review

Cochlea & Eustachia

Fantagraphics

Hans Rickheit

Dec 24, 2014 Web Exclusive By Zack Hollwedel

Hans Rickheit’s Cochlea & Eustachia has to be one of the oddest graphic novellas to hit shelves this year. It is artsy, perplexing, sexualized, and definitely not for kids. Cochlea and Eustachia appear to be twin girls (who only ever wear skimpy, bottom-less nightgowns) trapped in a bizarre and perilous house of morbid curiosities. They attempt an escape, unintentionally subjecting their bodies to grievous harm in the process, which doesn’t kill or even much deter them.

It’s hard to tell how much analysis Cochlea & Eustachia warrants. Is it art for art’s sake, akin to an abstract painting in a trendy New York gallery? Is it so cerebral that one can (and does) easily miss the point? Whatever the answer, one thing is for certain: Rickheit’s narrative belongs in a world of its own, which is precisely what the writer/illustrator delivers. The book won’t be for everyone—in fact, it probably won’t be for most—but this off-the-beaten-path tale fills a definite, albeit small, dark and fetishized niche. (www.fantagraphics.com)

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