Pictures That Tick
McKean, best known as an illustrator of Sandman and other works by Neil Gaiman, has also written and drawn a considerable body of work, most notably the ambitious graphic novel Cages (1998). Originally published in a limited edition in 2001, Pictures That Tick collects a decade’s worth of McKean’s short works, pieces ranging from one-page, koan-like tidbits to illustrated texts that resemble picture books for adults to speechless, surreal tales. Visually, the works are even more diverse, incorporating painting, illustration, collage, and digitally manipulated photographs. The most elaborate are reminiscent of the work of animators Jan Svankmajer and the Brothers Quay. Even more quietly impressive are the wordless stories, rendered in sparse line drawings, that evoke a sustained, dreamlike state and often invoke McKean’s favored motif of flight. While many will cherish these iconoclastic tales, their recondite nature is likely to be off-putting to others, including many fans of McKean’s more mainstream efforts. But even those resistant to the unorthodox nature of this art will be impressed by its indisputable craft. --Gordon Flagg