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Dedalus #1-3
Final Cut
The beloved and award-winning author of BLACK HOLE's haunting and visually arresting story of an artist's obsessions, and the value and cost of pushing the boundaries of creativity
As a child, Brian and his friend Jimmy would make sci-fi films in their yards, convincing their friends to star as victims of grisly murders, smearing lipstick on the "bodies" to simulate blood. Now a talented artist and aspiring filmmaker, Brian, along with Jimmy, Jimmy's friend Tina, and Laurie—his reluctant muse—sets off to a remote cabin in the woods with an old 8 millimeter camera to make a true sci-fi horror movie, an homage to Brian's favorite movie: Invasion of the Body Snatchers. But as Brian's affections for Laurie go seemingly unreciprocated, Brian writes and draws himself into a fantasy where she is the girl of his dreams, his damsel in distress, and his savior wrapped into one. Rife with references to classic sci-fi and horror movies and filled with panels of stunning depictions of nature, film and the surreal, Burns blurs the line between Brian's dreams and reality, imagination and perception. A master of the form at his finest, Final Cut is an astonishing look at what it means to truly express oneself through art.
As a child, Brian and his friend Jimmy would make sci-fi films in their yards, convincing their friends to star as victims of grisly murders, smearing lipstick on the "bodies" to simulate blood. Now a talented artist and aspiring filmmaker, Brian, along with Jimmy, Jimmy's friend Tina, and Laurie—his reluctant muse—sets off to a remote cabin in the woods with an old 8 millimeter camera to make a true sci-fi horror movie, an homage to Brian's favorite movie: Invasion of the Body Snatchers. But as Brian's affections for Laurie go seemingly unreciprocated, Brian writes and draws himself into a fantasy where she is the girl of his dreams, his damsel in distress, and his savior wrapped into one. Rife with references to classic sci-fi and horror movies and filled with panels of stunning depictions of nature, film and the surreal, Burns blurs the line between Brian's dreams and reality, imagination and perception. A master of the form at his finest, Final Cut is an astonishing look at what it means to truly express oneself through art.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published September 24, 2024
64 people are currently reading
5950 people want to read
About the author
Charles Burns
107 books1,085 followersCharles Burns is an American cartoonist and illustrator.
Burns grew up in Seattle in the 1970s. His comic book work rose to prominence in Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly magazine 'RAW' in the mid-1980s. Nowadays, Burns is best known for the horror/coming of age graphic novel Black Hole, originally serialised in twelve issues between 1995 and 2004. The story was eventually collected in one volume by Pantheon Books and received Eisner, Harvey, and Ignatz awards in 2005. His following works X'ed Out (2010), The Hive (2012), Sugar Skull (2014), Last Look (2016) and Last Cut (2024) have also been published by Pantheon Books, although the latter was first released in France as a series of three French comic albums.
As an illustrator, Charles Burns has been involved in a wide range of projects, from Iggy Pop album covers to an ad campaign for Altoids. In 1992 he designed the sets for Mark Morris's restaging of The Nutcracker (renamed The Hard Nut) at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. He illustrated covers for Time, The New Yorker, and The New York Times Magazine. He was also tapped as the official cover artist for The Believer magazine at its inception in 2003.
Burns lives in Philadelphia with his wife and daughters.
Burns grew up in Seattle in the 1970s. His comic book work rose to prominence in Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly magazine 'RAW' in the mid-1980s. Nowadays, Burns is best known for the horror/coming of age graphic novel Black Hole, originally serialised in twelve issues between 1995 and 2004. The story was eventually collected in one volume by Pantheon Books and received Eisner, Harvey, and Ignatz awards in 2005. His following works X'ed Out (2010), The Hive (2012), Sugar Skull (2014), Last Look (2016) and Last Cut (2024) have also been published by Pantheon Books, although the latter was first released in France as a series of three French comic albums.
As an illustrator, Charles Burns has been involved in a wide range of projects, from Iggy Pop album covers to an ad campaign for Altoids. In 1992 he designed the sets for Mark Morris's restaging of The Nutcracker (renamed The Hard Nut) at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. He illustrated covers for Time, The New Yorker, and The New York Times Magazine. He was also tapped as the official cover artist for The Believer magazine at its inception in 2003.
Burns lives in Philadelphia with his wife and daughters.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 376 reviews
November 7, 2024
Another slow-burn horror about a man obsessed with a muse.
I kept reading because I wanted aliens. Not this boring limbo about a film kid who can’t read between the lines.
I’m just really tired of stories by men that say nothing and add nothing to the world; just another graphic novel about men brooding and being so “complex” whilst sexualizing women and fetishizing their queerness.
EDITED TO ADD DISCLAIMER: I don't care about your opinions on my review. If you disagree, I don't care. I'm not a paid reviewer. I'm not a social media influencer. I'm just tired. I'm not going to argue with you. I'll just delete your comment.
I kept reading because I wanted aliens. Not this boring limbo about a film kid who can’t read between the lines.
I’m just really tired of stories by men that say nothing and add nothing to the world; just another graphic novel about men brooding and being so “complex” whilst sexualizing women and fetishizing their queerness.
EDITED TO ADD DISCLAIMER: I don't care about your opinions on my review. If you disagree, I don't care. I'm not a paid reviewer. I'm not a social media influencer. I'm just tired. I'm not going to argue with you. I'll just delete your comment.
October 20, 2024
I was shocked to see this on the shelf at my local bookstore! I didn't know this was coming out. Always awesome to get a new graphic novel by Burns.
I always love films about making films, so why not a comic about making a film? It's a bit of a coming of age story, teenage love triangles, dealing with depression and lots of drinking. I appreciate how straight forward the story is after Burns last book which felt like Tintin on acid.
The illustrations are beautiful and I like how Burns weaves in pages from the character's sketchbook.
I always love films about making films, so why not a comic about making a film? It's a bit of a coming of age story, teenage love triangles, dealing with depression and lots of drinking. I appreciate how straight forward the story is after Burns last book which felt like Tintin on acid.
The illustrations are beautiful and I like how Burns weaves in pages from the character's sketchbook.
November 1, 2024
Burns' fans know what to expect: his technically impeccable art, the quiet and subtly disturbing storytelling, the mingling of unstable mental states and dream states, the mostly uncomfortable and unfulfilling desire and sex. I was surprised to be moved by the final section; it never raises its voice, but is so sad.
June 10, 2025
The only thing creepier than any horror movie is just about any teenage boy with a crush.
This mood piece never does much beyond giving a girl some small regret for being kind to a boy with some mental health issues and a poor home situation who becomes obsessed with filming a home-made alien invasion thriller with her. It's a thin story stretched over too many pages with too many dream sequences and outright adaptations of a few scenes from some classic movies: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956 version) and The Last Picture Show.
I just couldn't bring myself to care and nothing on the pages could persuade me.
Meh.
This mood piece never does much beyond giving a girl some small regret for being kind to a boy with some mental health issues and a poor home situation who becomes obsessed with filming a home-made alien invasion thriller with her. It's a thin story stretched over too many pages with too many dream sequences and outright adaptations of a few scenes from some classic movies: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956 version) and The Last Picture Show.
I just couldn't bring myself to care and nothing on the pages could persuade me.
Meh.
October 5, 2024
Final Cut is the newest Charles Burns graphic novel (previously published in three serialized installments entitled Dédales) which treads familiar grounds for long time fans of his work. The story features two protagonists in Laurie Dunn and Brian Milner between whom the perspective shifts back and forth. Brian is introduced as an introverted and pensive artist and film enthusiast, while Laurie is a charming, charismatic and attractive woman who agrees to star in an amateur film production that Brian is set to write and direct. Early on, it's clear that the pair are headed for romantic entanglement but Burns carefully creates a sense of unease and awkwardness between their clashing personalities. Brian's social awkwardness is key towards this mismatch in the romantic pairing though it becomes apparent quickly that a lot of this comes from an undiagnosed mental condition and a strained home life where Brian takes care of his alcoholic mother. Laurie, for her part, is much more of a blank slate. She's a new girl in the friend group and is mostly only seen in the first two-thirds of the book as only contextualized from her interactions with Brian. Still, she acts as a fairly useful audience stand-in to really interrogate the oddities in Brian's behaviors.
There is a highly alluring mystery that Burns cultivates throughout much of the first half of Final Cut, where the disjointed reality of Brian's film homage to the 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers blurs in with the more straightforward narrative of Brian's awkward courting for Laurie's attention. In this regard, this book is very classic Charles Burns where the surreal blends with the mundane that evokes the William S. Burroughs sensibilities of his previous comics. The strange male protagonist, homages to older cult horror films and horrifying extraterrestrial and body horror imagery is pretty much what Burns did for his "Last Look" trilogy, a series I found to be amongst the best work he's done yet. And for the majority of Final Cut, I was thoroughly engrossed.
Unfortunately, there is a bit of a drop-off in the second half as the narrative becomes a fair bit more straightforward. My biggest gripe has to do with a love triangle that emerges from sort of nowhere in which Laurie's interest in Brian and his film become a fair bit more divided. It's in this section where the story does begin to characterize Laurie a bit more but a lot of it feels a bit rushed and ill developed. I won't say the second half of the book was a full turn off for me - I was still pretty engaged - but it does read as much lesser work on Burns' part as he takes the more pressing atmospheric tension of the first half and dilutes it down for a somewhat out of place coming of age narrative for Laurie's character. Perhaps if some of this was percolated earlier on in the story it would feel a little less out of place, but the final story here does have a sense of thematic whiplash I couldn't shake. The second half isn't all a downturn for me though - I did find the ending itself to actually be a great culmination of what Burns set up in the first half as Brian's own imagination resurfaces to once again blend realities to craft that surreal sensation developed early in the story. Though the ending being so great after spending a an entire portion of the narrative on more lackluster meanderings is part of why I found this an altogether more disappointing entry in Burns' work since it felt so close to it all coming together as perfectly as his previous comics.
The artwork is pretty great throughout, so on that front Burns is operating at the highest of levels still. The main narrative utilizes a fairly simplistic cartooning style that on its own isn't all that engaging, but when we get glimpses of Brian's sketchbook and film reels is where the true illustrative masterclass comes out. At first I did find this juxtaposition rather annoying since I would prefer the more detailed style throughout, but on a second read I really felt the emphasis on the stylistic change to be a necessary choice towards the narrative. In the end, while I mostly enjoyed Final Cut there was enough inconsistency in execution to make me feel a bit lower on this compared to the magnificent heights he's achieved in previous works.
There is a highly alluring mystery that Burns cultivates throughout much of the first half of Final Cut, where the disjointed reality of Brian's film homage to the 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers blurs in with the more straightforward narrative of Brian's awkward courting for Laurie's attention. In this regard, this book is very classic Charles Burns where the surreal blends with the mundane that evokes the William S. Burroughs sensibilities of his previous comics. The strange male protagonist, homages to older cult horror films and horrifying extraterrestrial and body horror imagery is pretty much what Burns did for his "Last Look" trilogy, a series I found to be amongst the best work he's done yet. And for the majority of Final Cut, I was thoroughly engrossed.
Unfortunately, there is a bit of a drop-off in the second half as the narrative becomes a fair bit more straightforward. My biggest gripe has to do with a love triangle that emerges from sort of nowhere in which Laurie's interest in Brian and his film become a fair bit more divided. It's in this section where the story does begin to characterize Laurie a bit more but a lot of it feels a bit rushed and ill developed. I won't say the second half of the book was a full turn off for me - I was still pretty engaged - but it does read as much lesser work on Burns' part as he takes the more pressing atmospheric tension of the first half and dilutes it down for a somewhat out of place coming of age narrative for Laurie's character. Perhaps if some of this was percolated earlier on in the story it would feel a little less out of place, but the final story here does have a sense of thematic whiplash I couldn't shake. The second half isn't all a downturn for me though - I did find the ending itself to actually be a great culmination of what Burns set up in the first half as Brian's own imagination resurfaces to once again blend realities to craft that surreal sensation developed early in the story. Though the ending being so great after spending a an entire portion of the narrative on more lackluster meanderings is part of why I found this an altogether more disappointing entry in Burns' work since it felt so close to it all coming together as perfectly as his previous comics.
The artwork is pretty great throughout, so on that front Burns is operating at the highest of levels still. The main narrative utilizes a fairly simplistic cartooning style that on its own isn't all that engaging, but when we get glimpses of Brian's sketchbook and film reels is where the true illustrative masterclass comes out. At first I did find this juxtaposition rather annoying since I would prefer the more detailed style throughout, but on a second read I really felt the emphasis on the stylistic change to be a necessary choice towards the narrative. In the end, while I mostly enjoyed Final Cut there was enough inconsistency in execution to make me feel a bit lower on this compared to the magnificent heights he's achieved in previous works.
July 30, 2025
PT Esta foi a minha primeira incursão na obra de Charles Burns e, confesso, fiquei bastante entusiasmado. O autor possui um estilo muito próprio que me conquistou desde as primeiras páginas. A primeira parte do livro é especialmente envolvente; já a segunda abranda um pouco o ritmo, mas mantém o interesse até ao final, com um desfecho que me agradou bastante.
Acompanhamos Brian, um realizador amador, e Laurie, uma mulher intrigada pelo seu trabalho que acaba por participar num dos seus filmes. Brian é uma figura marcada por dificuldades de interação social e vai, aos poucos, desenvolvendo sentimentos por Laurie. A narrativa gravita entre estas duas paixões — o cinema e Laurie — que moldam o seu percurso emocional.
A história oscila habilmente entre o estranho e o real, mantendo sempre um certo desconforto magnético que prende o leitor. O traço de Burns, embora aparentemente simples, revela-se surpreendentemente expressivo e eficaz na construção da atmosfera e no suporte à narrativa visual.
Fiquei com vontade de explorar mais obras deste autor.
--
EN This was my first encounter with the work of Charles Burns and, I must say, I was quite impressed. The author has a very distinctive style that captivated me from the very first pages. The first part of the book is especially engaging; the second part slows down a bit in pace but still keeps the interest high, with an ending I really enjoyed.
We follow Brian, an amateur filmmaker, and Laurie, a woman intrigued by his work who ends up participating in one of his films. Brian is a man with social interaction difficulties who gradually starts to develop feelings for Laurie. The story revolves around these two passions — cinema and Laurie — which shape his emotional journey.
The narrative skilfully moves along the border between the strange and the very real, maintaining a certain magnetic unease that keeps the reader hooked. Burns’s linework, while seemingly simple, proves to be surprisingly expressive and effective in building atmosphere and supporting the visual storytelling.
I'm definitely interested in exploring more of this author’s work.
Acompanhamos Brian, um realizador amador, e Laurie, uma mulher intrigada pelo seu trabalho que acaba por participar num dos seus filmes. Brian é uma figura marcada por dificuldades de interação social e vai, aos poucos, desenvolvendo sentimentos por Laurie. A narrativa gravita entre estas duas paixões — o cinema e Laurie — que moldam o seu percurso emocional.
A história oscila habilmente entre o estranho e o real, mantendo sempre um certo desconforto magnético que prende o leitor. O traço de Burns, embora aparentemente simples, revela-se surpreendentemente expressivo e eficaz na construção da atmosfera e no suporte à narrativa visual.
Fiquei com vontade de explorar mais obras deste autor.
--
EN This was my first encounter with the work of Charles Burns and, I must say, I was quite impressed. The author has a very distinctive style that captivated me from the very first pages. The first part of the book is especially engaging; the second part slows down a bit in pace but still keeps the interest high, with an ending I really enjoyed.
We follow Brian, an amateur filmmaker, and Laurie, a woman intrigued by his work who ends up participating in one of his films. Brian is a man with social interaction difficulties who gradually starts to develop feelings for Laurie. The story revolves around these two passions — cinema and Laurie — which shape his emotional journey.
The narrative skilfully moves along the border between the strange and the very real, maintaining a certain magnetic unease that keeps the reader hooked. Burns’s linework, while seemingly simple, proves to be surprisingly expressive and effective in building atmosphere and supporting the visual storytelling.
I'm definitely interested in exploring more of this author’s work.
July 13, 2025
Portrait of the Artist as an Alien Balloon Drifting over a Desolate Landscape.
I’ve read the comic twice over, first for the story and the second time mainly for the artwork. Being my first by Charles Burns, I didn’t know what to expect, other than my high expectations I usually have from independently published comics dealing with growing up and alienation. In the end, I liked both the graphic presentation and the subject.
Brian Milner is a young adult who feels uncomfortable in crowds and at parties. He is usually found by himself, in a quiet place, drawing in his sketchpad or storyboarding his next 9 mm home movie project. That’s where Laurie Dunn, a beautiful redhead hiding her own social awkwardness behind a charming smile, finds Brian. She tells him she was chosen by their friends Billy to star in the next movie they plan to shoot. The young man starts almost instantly to feature the girl in his dreams.
I was, and still am, a movie geek, just like Brian Milner, finding meaning and purpose alone in a cinema hall, later trying to convey to friends my enthusiasm for rather obscure or arthouse movies. Brian and Laurie bond over watching together the early efforts of making ten minutes horror movies in their garage. Later, they have a date night watching Invasion of the Body Snatchers [1956] , which Brian hopes to use as inspiration for his latest project.
Two other movies are featured strongly in the plot of the comic: The Last Man on Earth [1964] and The Last Picture Show [1971] , the first as supplemental material for the horror project, the second as a mirror for Brian’s evolving feelings for Laurie, whom he draws and films in angles very similar to Cybill Shepherd in that movie:
‘The movie is about my head.’
Eventually, Brian and Jimmy together with Laurie and Tina and a couple of other friends, start filming at a remote lake house and at a camping site atop Snowqualmie Pass. Brian has already imagined all the scenes in his head, but the real world refuses to conform with his imagination, pushing him deeper into his feelings of alienation and into his own imaginary story.
Final Cut
starring : Laurie Dunn
directed by: Brian Milner
The final product is more family home video than sleek horror production, and the love story imagined by the artist remains a pipe dream. Yet this extraordinary summer with its emotional turmoil under a majestic landscape will remain captured on the 8 mm celluloid strip, like an insect in amber.
Charles Burns’s artwork takes some getting used to, but his clear line and his use of blocks of primary colours serve the message in an exemplary way. I plan to check out his earlier series, Black Hole.
December 7, 2024
Just an amazingly gorgeous, big graphic novel. The story is told from 2 points of view, Brian and Laurie, teenagers navigating their teen-ness but in a seamlessly integrated manner. Set around the Invasion of the Body Snatchers-influenced movie Brian is making, without giving anything away, the story manages to touch on lots of weightier issues the teens grapple with. And the drawing, man it is so freaking impressive, from all the extraterrestrial stuff to the landscapes to the movie stills from actual movies, just wow. Anyone who enjoys good art will appreciate this one.
January 14, 2025
Another of Burns' signature tales of teenage angst. Although I prefer the more bizarre stuff he's done in the past this wasn't bad at all. I really like his clean lines art.
November 22, 2024
Charles Burns is a masterful storyteller! This was my first graphic novel and will not be my last. What a fantastic story, well-written and perfectly illustrated. I will treasure this book forever 💛
August 3, 2024
"Eventually, the credits roll and the lights come on and it’s time to go home. That’s always the worst part… going home.
Charles Burns has this magical way of telling the most bizarre stories and adding in these stellar art pieces. His illustrations are what draw me into his stories. I always go back to the beginning of the story to take another look at his work. It’s beautifully bizarre.
I was stoked to see that he was releasing another book. Buzzing with excitement is quite the understatement.
While this wasn’t one of my favorite by him, it was still a decent read with the most amazing illustrations. I love that feel of old Hollywood horror and the process of creating your own monster film. It was something else. The story about almost everyone being obsessed with Laurie was kind of drab. That’s the part of the story that loses me a bit. The rest was okay.
Final Cut was an okay story with the best illustrations. In typical Burns fashion, you’re thrown this wicked and wild curveball as the characters develop on the pages. It was definitely worth the read.
Charles Burns has this magical way of telling the most bizarre stories and adding in these stellar art pieces. His illustrations are what draw me into his stories. I always go back to the beginning of the story to take another look at his work. It’s beautifully bizarre.
I was stoked to see that he was releasing another book. Buzzing with excitement is quite the understatement.
While this wasn’t one of my favorite by him, it was still a decent read with the most amazing illustrations. I love that feel of old Hollywood horror and the process of creating your own monster film. It was something else. The story about almost everyone being obsessed with Laurie was kind of drab. That’s the part of the story that loses me a bit. The rest was okay.
Final Cut was an okay story with the best illustrations. In typical Burns fashion, you’re thrown this wicked and wild curveball as the characters develop on the pages. It was definitely worth the read.
November 11, 2024
Burns is a master of plunging the reader into the world of his particular brand of eerie, melancholy, slightly disturbing illustrations. This story is less plot driven than Black Hole or X’ed Out, telling a simple story that any art and/or film lover can relate to in some way.
Many reviews take an uncharitable view of how
Many reviews take an uncharitable view of how
December 4, 2024
⭐️
Critical Score: D
Personal Score: F
Absolutely awful. Super male gaze-y in every wrong way. Horrible queer representation. Super annoying protagonist. The plot made very little sense, and it was extremely slow and dull from start to finish.
This is a cringey incel snooze-fest, a depressed filmbro’s problematic, self-absorbed fantasy, equipped with a pretentious tragic ending to really rub in the nihilism.
The art was fine, though.
Critical Score: D
Personal Score: F
Absolutely awful. Super male gaze-y in every wrong way. Horrible queer representation. Super annoying protagonist. The plot made very little sense, and it was extremely slow and dull from start to finish.
This is a cringey incel snooze-fest, a depressed filmbro’s problematic, self-absorbed fantasy, equipped with a pretentious tragic ending to really rub in the nihilism.
The art was fine, though.
October 4, 2024
Holy. Shit. It’s not really “story” forward but it isn’t trying to be. I felt uncomfortable the whole time and that is the point.
January 9, 2025
Meh. Black Hole is vastly superior. I kept waiting for its disconnected ideas about creativity, mental illness, and adolescence (at least I think they’re teens) to coalesce and they didn’t. I left this feeling like…. Ok and?? What else?? Needed more substance and heft,because honestly I was a bit bored.
May 12, 2025
Now anyone familiar with Burns' work knows he can draw, and some of the scenes in here are genuinely beautiful with some lovely, lovely colouring and really memorable images which remain long in the memory after you've finished reading. But I think Burns' biggest problem is that his narratives can never seem to reach anywhere near the standard of his art work and so as a result you tend to finish feeling a tad deflated and disappointed.
October 4, 2024
3 stars primarily for the eerily accurate depiction of a weepy, alcoholic, narcissist mother. I see you, Burns, and I'm sorry.
Final Cut tells the stories of Laurie and Brian. Brian is an artist who likes making films with his BFF Jimmy. Laurie is a girl who Jimmy brings into their fold to star in their latest project.
Though we get first person narrations from both Laurie and Brian, we only ever really see the interiority of Brian, and only so much. Burns is holding us arms length from his characters, which is particularly frustrating in a first person narration format. What are the mental health issues with which Brian struggles? What are his dreams? His goals? He's a bit obsessed with Laurie, and wants to make something of his art. The latter feel trite. The former comes off as downright creepy. Meanwhile, we get very little from Laurie. She seems confused by the motives and emotions of the people around her, and seems to allow things to happen to her, rather than taking charge of anything. She's utterly passive, which, to me, makes her utterly boring.
I picked up this graphic novel because I was sold on the idea of an illustrated story depicting people going into the woods to make a horror film. Those may be the actions of the characters, but it's not what this story is about. This story is about the clumsy ways we humans interact with one another, and how we can think one thing and say something completely different... or nothing at all.
It's also a love letter to classic horror flicks.
Of note: Burns can draw a gorgeous vista.
Final Cut tells the stories of Laurie and Brian. Brian is an artist who likes making films with his BFF Jimmy. Laurie is a girl who Jimmy brings into their fold to star in their latest project.
Though we get first person narrations from both Laurie and Brian, we only ever really see the interiority of Brian, and only so much. Burns is holding us arms length from his characters, which is particularly frustrating in a first person narration format. What are the mental health issues with which Brian struggles? What are his dreams? His goals? He's a bit obsessed with Laurie, and wants to make something of his art. The latter feel trite. The former comes off as downright creepy. Meanwhile, we get very little from Laurie. She seems confused by the motives and emotions of the people around her, and seems to allow things to happen to her, rather than taking charge of anything. She's utterly passive, which, to me, makes her utterly boring.
I picked up this graphic novel because I was sold on the idea of an illustrated story depicting people going into the woods to make a horror film. Those may be the actions of the characters, but it's not what this story is about. This story is about the clumsy ways we humans interact with one another, and how we can think one thing and say something completely different... or nothing at all.
It's also a love letter to classic horror flicks.
Of note: Burns can draw a gorgeous vista.
October 9, 2024
Stunning illustrations tell the story of a group of teenagers who attempt to create their own sci- fi/horror movie in what appears to be the 1970s; only one of whom takes the film entirely seriously.
This is a story about how movies and life rarely go how we envision them, along with the awkwardness and confusion of young relationships.
This is a story about how movies and life rarely go how we envision them, along with the awkwardness and confusion of young relationships.
November 25, 2024
I'm not sure how this got past an editor. The story is absolute dog shit, unfinished, pointless, etc. The art's amazing, but when the story is this bad, it almost doesn't matter. My guess is that Burns is so well established that they just let him do whatever he wanted, but they let him drown.
*It pads my reading numbers for the year, so thank you, I guess.
*It pads my reading numbers for the year, so thank you, I guess.
July 22, 2024
Arc from NetGalley.
Burns’ produces a beautiful looking book, even if the story doesn’t amount to much.
Burns’ produces a beautiful looking book, even if the story doesn’t amount to much.
October 9, 2024
3.5 stars rounded down.
Variations on a theme from CB’s previous work—particularly Last Look. Passivity, unrequited love, the allure of a fantasy world—especially for artists, and in this case troubled artists with even more troubling home situations. Brian can’t quite land his spaceship on Earth (or in this case a giant meatball brain thing) and Laurie is so detached she doesn’t even know what she wants until someone tells her. A very melancholy story, though relatable. At least I assume it’s relatable for others. Or maybe I just historically have more things in common with Brian than I’d like to admit. Anyway...as expected, the art is great.
It can be so easy to retreat into yourself, especially if you have a rich inner world. The problem is that sometimes it can be difficult to then re-emerge to interact with “reality." Damaged people notice that quality in others (real recognize real) and often are attracted to it. But problems inevitably arise when these two square pegs try to fit into a single round hole. Then, we have the loss of something that never was, or a muse that stayed just that when it could have been something else, something more. Really, it’s safer that way. Safety...hmmm. I hear you, CB. I’ve unfortunately been on that planet too. Luckily I was able to ride my tentacled brain meatball to greener pastures.
A little too dull and close to home for me, though it looks great and is intelligently plotted. Good film recs in there too.
Variations on a theme from CB’s previous work—particularly Last Look. Passivity, unrequited love, the allure of a fantasy world—especially for artists, and in this case troubled artists with even more troubling home situations. Brian can’t quite land his spaceship on Earth (or in this case a giant meatball brain thing) and Laurie is so detached she doesn’t even know what she wants until someone tells her. A very melancholy story, though relatable. At least I assume it’s relatable for others. Or maybe I just historically have more things in common with Brian than I’d like to admit. Anyway...as expected, the art is great.
It can be so easy to retreat into yourself, especially if you have a rich inner world. The problem is that sometimes it can be difficult to then re-emerge to interact with “reality." Damaged people notice that quality in others (real recognize real) and often are attracted to it. But problems inevitably arise when these two square pegs try to fit into a single round hole. Then, we have the loss of something that never was, or a muse that stayed just that when it could have been something else, something more. Really, it’s safer that way. Safety...hmmm. I hear you, CB. I’ve unfortunately been on that planet too. Luckily I was able to ride my tentacled brain meatball to greener pastures.
A little too dull and close to home for me, though it looks great and is intelligently plotted. Good film recs in there too.
June 9, 2025
I thought this was a great manga. i have a few of junji ito's works checked out from the library too and I'm gonna start those soon, I wanna get back into manga. I really liked Brian and Laurie. it revolves around a group of friends making a horror movie. Brian is the director and I really love books involving movies especially horror and the making of one. 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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June 19, 2025Coup de cœur total.
May 30, 2025
yep that's sure a Charles Burns comic. yawn
OK Soda was peak Burns. Just make ads, Chuck!
OK Soda was peak Burns. Just make ads, Chuck!
December 20, 2024
Burns is a master at capturing the kind of creepy dread of human existence, especially in the white teen-to-early-20s demographic/range. In addition, I have always found the line work in his art to be just mind-blowing... It conveys so much, and feels rendered with such care and precision. (I had never looked up his process before and while this is not him, this is another artist showing how this type of brushwork is performed to render art in Burns's style: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4kbr... )
The story revolves around amateur film-makers, Brian and Jimmy, who have been making home movies since they were young boys. Brian is the central character who has this very obsessive vision and drive. He's a talented artist himself (frequently drawing in his sketchbook) and a bit of a wild card depending on whether he's taken his meds or not. He becomes fixated on Laurie, the lead actress cast in their current film. It manages to be awkward, disturbing, imaginative, and depressing as artistic vision and romantic hopes crash up against reality. And yet there's hope and connection and a kindled feeling of possibility, as well. Maybe not my favorite of his narratives, but the whole is a thing to see. I particularly responded to the panels/sections devoid of color and the depictions of classic film or TV scenes. I closed the cover feeling like Burns had somehow transformed life into an offbeat sci-fi B movie.
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Here's an interesting look at one of his hard-to-find sketchbooks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBvKL...
The story revolves around amateur film-makers, Brian and Jimmy, who have been making home movies since they were young boys. Brian is the central character who has this very obsessive vision and drive. He's a talented artist himself (frequently drawing in his sketchbook) and a bit of a wild card depending on whether he's taken his meds or not. He becomes fixated on Laurie, the lead actress cast in their current film. It manages to be awkward, disturbing, imaginative, and depressing as artistic vision and romantic hopes crash up against reality. And yet there's hope and connection and a kindled feeling of possibility, as well. Maybe not my favorite of his narratives, but the whole is a thing to see. I particularly responded to the panels/sections devoid of color and the depictions of classic film or TV scenes. I closed the cover feeling like Burns had somehow transformed life into an offbeat sci-fi B movie.
[image error]
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Here's an interesting look at one of his hard-to-find sketchbooks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBvKL...
September 12, 2024
Final Cut is a meditation on how art mirrors and influences the lives of those who participate in it's creation. Burns returns to the realm of youthful sexual anxieties and grotesque imagery reminiscent of Black Hole with some narrative twists: an unreliable narrator, a cast of characters a bit older in age (20s?), and some visual parallels to well-known horror films.
I loved that this work is in color- there are striking scenes with no dialogue, just pure saturated skies and foliage with Burns iconic bold shading and linework. Breathtaking! I also appreciated that the color helped to distinguish which character was which.
One detractor from this story was how the characters really resembled each other. I heavily relied on different hair colors to know who was on each page. There is very little body differentiation or any physical quirks with these characters- everyone feels like a blank slate. I would have appreciated more differences in body size, facial features, clothing options, etc. Maybe this was a choice meant to reference to the anxieties about identity as a group and as an individual... but I felt it detracted from my reading experience.
Overall, Final Cut is a gorgeous work of art with a creepy, atmospheric quality perfect for older teens and adults alike.
I loved that this work is in color- there are striking scenes with no dialogue, just pure saturated skies and foliage with Burns iconic bold shading and linework. Breathtaking! I also appreciated that the color helped to distinguish which character was which.
One detractor from this story was how the characters really resembled each other. I heavily relied on different hair colors to know who was on each page. There is very little body differentiation or any physical quirks with these characters- everyone feels like a blank slate. I would have appreciated more differences in body size, facial features, clothing options, etc. Maybe this was a choice meant to reference to the anxieties about identity as a group and as an individual... but I felt it detracted from my reading experience.
Overall, Final Cut is a gorgeous work of art with a creepy, atmospheric quality perfect for older teens and adults alike.
October 3, 2024
Having really enjoyed Black Hole, I really anticipated this graphic work. The realistic style of Burns’s art mixes well with the honest portrayal of unrequited love, obsession, and passion. I definitely felt I could understand and empathize with Brian’s unique view of the world and his artistic vision as an artist and filmmaker who appreciated older sc-fi/horror films. My main issue with the work is the idealization of a woman who just exists. Laurie had such a flat personality, yet everyone was pining over her based on her looks, especially her red hair. Brian was drawing her naked after a trivial conversation with her: It definitely offers a vision of the male gaze that’s pretty much been tirelessly written about. Thank god, Laurie didn’t exactly ascend to manic-pixie-dream-girl level, but she was pretty close. Things didn’t work out for Brian the way he hoped, and he had little growth as a character except living his “dreams” through his film creations. Overall, reading this isn’t a complete waste of time, but there are better portrayals of character growth–and women–out there as a whole. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for access to this work.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 5, 2024
Intriguing cover; intriguing concept-i.e., the making of a monster movie with friends. A bit like that old movie Super 8; you can’t wait to see what serendipitous magic these amateurs can stumble into. Brian seems to be the genius-the artistic Spielberg wannabe, but who may get too dangerously close to his project. While the obsession with bizarro oozing alien brain organs was cool, his weird and creepy obsession with a red-headed beauty veered into a compulsive voyeurism that froze him repeatedly into some sort of analysis paralysis that was decidedly one-note after a while. Good art, though, applied to a story that gets a couple stars for its originality.
December 8, 2024
Charles Burns is one of my personal holy trinity of the American graphic novel, next to Daniel Clowes and Chris Ware. I have so much admiration for this man. After his magnum opus ‘The Black Hole’ (’95-’04) and the grandiose trilogy ‘X’ed Out’ (’10-’14), there is this ‘Final Cut.
For some reason I feared that it could only disappoint…don’t ask me why… But as it turns out: it's another Grand Cru.
Burns masterfully puts youthful confusion, frustrations and discomfort on paper. He covers it with a surreal sauce without making the taste too strange. It all feels very real and raw. Of course, his artwork is to die for… those lines…those colors… Beautiful!!!
For some reason I feared that it could only disappoint…don’t ask me why… But as it turns out: it's another Grand Cru.
Burns masterfully puts youthful confusion, frustrations and discomfort on paper. He covers it with a surreal sauce without making the taste too strange. It all feels very real and raw. Of course, his artwork is to die for… those lines…those colors… Beautiful!!!
November 11, 2024
Outstanding artwork, flat writing.
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