The End
The title of Nilsen’s latest set of sketchbook pieces made shortly after the death of his fiancée, Cheryl, in 2005, is bivalent. It refers to the end of his life with her, a time filled with doing “whatever I want all the time” (often enough, crying); carrying on imaginary dialogues with Cheryl, in which they appear as outline figures only; and expounding philosophically via another outline-man. It also indicates that this collection concludes his public presentation of his grief, though not his grieving, which he knows will continue, diminishing, until he dies. If The End’s contents aren’t as deeply affecting or as narrative-driven as those of Don’t Go Where I Can’t Follow (2012), they’re as intelligently written and beautifully drawn—whether simply or intricately—as anything else this front-runner in his generation of comics artists has done. The last piece ends in blank-paneled silence, bringing to mind Wittgenstein’s famous proposition, “What we cannot speak about, we must pass over in silence.” --Ray Olson